Harry James Potter (born July 31, 1980), is a Half-Blood wizard, son of Pure-Blood James Potter (1960–1981) and Muggle-born witch Lily Evans (1960–1981). On October 31, 1981, when he was about a year old, Lord Voldemort (1926–1998) broke into James and Lily's home in Godric's Hollow. He killed James, but listening to the advice of one of his followers, Severus Snape (1960–1998), Lily's childhood friend, he gave Lily a chance to survive if she handed over the one-year old baby Harry. Lily refused, and Voldemort used the Killing Curse to murder her. Harry Potter finally defeated Lord Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts (1998) at a duel in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

Contents

Appearance

Harry is described as short and skinny for his age, with startlingly green eyes and jet-black, incredibly messy hair. He wears round, patched up glasses and has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead where Voldemort's killing curse rebounded.

Life

In July 31, 1980, Harry Potter was born. As an infant, Harry lived with James Potter and Lily Potter. During the night in Halloween, Lord Voldemort hears a prophecy about his downfall and young Harry will become his equal. Lord Voldemort kills Lily and James Potter, but as he uses the killing curse, the curse rebounded and Harry survives. After the death of his parents, Albus Dumbledore delivers him to the Dursleys. After 10 miserable years, Harry turns eleven and gets accepted in Hogwarts. Befriending a half-giant called Rubeus Hagrid, Harry goes to Diagon Alley and purchases his school things. In the Hogwarts Express, Harry meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. During the Sorting, he becomes a Gryffindor. He goes through a magical journey in Hogwarts and stops Quirinus Quirrell from taking the Sorcerer's Stone and they win the House Cup.

In Harry's second year, he meets a house elf named Dobby who warns him not to return to Hogwarts. He meets Gilderoy Lockhart and discovers the Chamber of Secrets. Muggleborns are being attacked and Harry is suspected of doing so for being a parselmouth. He, Ron and Hermione must find a way to stop these attacks, by making Polyjuice Potion to interrogate Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin who hates the trio. They discover a man named Tom Riddle is now known as Lord Voldemort and has been using Ginny Weasley to set the basilisk on all muggle-borns. He defeats and escapes Voldemort a second time and destroys his diary ending the attacks.

In Harry's third year, he discovers creatures called Dementors.

Introduction

“

Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived

”

From the Story

When Harry Potter was just over a year old, his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, a Dark wizard referred to by most in the magical community as He Who Must Not Be Named. Voldemort tried to kill Harry but was unsuccessful; he then disappeared, leaving the baby with a lightning-shaped cut on his forehead.

After the attack, Hagrid, on Professor Dumbledore’s orders, brings Harry to Privet Drive to live with his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys.

Ten years later, Harry barely remembers the night his parents were killed: he only recalls a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain in his forehead. His Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia tell him that he got his lightning-shaped scar in the crash that killed his parents.

Harry sleeps in a cupboard under the stairs at his aunt and uncle’s house. He is small and skinny for his age, with bright green eyes and untidy black hair. He wears glasses that have been repeatedly broken and must be held together with a lot of Sellotape.

Odd things tend to happen around Harry. Sometimes strangers in the street recognise him, waving at him or even shaking his hand. Once, chased by school bullies, he found himself instantly out of their reach – on the roof of the school kitchens. Another time, after Aunt Petunia gave him a terrible haircut that left him nearly bald, he woke the following morning to find his hair had regrown.

Though Harry cannot account for how these things happen, he is usually punished with long stretches of confinement in his cupboard when they do.

After Mrs Figg (who usually looks after Harry when the Dursleys go out), breaks her leg, Harry is allowed to join the Dursleys on Dudley’s birthday trip to the zoo. When they enter the reptile house, a Brazilian boa constrictor winks at Harry; he speaks to the snake, and it seems to respond. Dudley rushes over, knocking Harry aside; a moment later the glass front of the tank vanishes and the snake escapes. Harry is convinced he hears the snake hiss, “Thanksss, amigo,” as it passes.

During the summer holidays, Harry begins to receive mysterious letters, written in green ink on heavy parchment, which the Dursleys won’t let him read. The first is addressed to Harry in “The Cupboard under the Stairs.” The Dursleys, seeing this, move Harry to the smallest bedroom in the house – where Dudley keeps all the broken and unused toys that won’t fit in his own bedroom.

The letters, however, keep arriving, increasing in frequency and volume. The Dursleys continue to keep them from Harry, even burning and shredding them. Finally, Uncle Vernon forces the family to pack up and flee, first to a small hotel in Cokeworth and then, when the letters follow them there, to an isolated, miserable shack in the middle of the sea.

At exactly midnight that night, as Harry turns eleven, Hagrid arrives at the hut, knocking down the door. Hagrid, despite the protests of the Dursleys, reveals that Harry is a wizard and gives him his letter at last. He also tells Harry the real circumstances surrounding his parents’ deaths.

The following day, Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley, introducing him to the wizarding world for the first time. They visit Gringotts, where Harry takes some money out of his vault to buy books and other items required for his first school year. Hagrid also retrieves a small, brown package from a high-security vault. Hagrid says it is more than his job’s worth to tell him what is inside.

While being fitted for school robes, Harry meets Draco Malfoy for the first time. Draco’s spoiled demeanour reminds Harry of Dudley, and Harry leaves without introducing himself.

Hagrid takes Harry to buy the remaining books and equipment needed for his first year, and Hagrid buys a Harry a beautiful snowy owl for his birthday (which Harry later names Hedwig).

Later, Harry buys a wand from Ollivanders. Mr Ollivander, the shop proprietor, tells Harry that a wand chooses a wizard rather than the other way around. The wand that chooses Harry is made of holly wood and has a phoenix feather core; it is eleven inches long and supple. While packing up Harry’s wand Mr Ollivander says it is very curious that this specific wand has chosen Harry. He explains that the phoenix whose tail feather is in Harry’s wand, only gave one other feather. That feather is the core of Voldemort’s wand – the wand that gave Harry his scar.

”

“

Harry worries when Hagrid tells him they are going to buy his things for school, as he knows Uncle Vernon is not going to pay for him to go to Hogwarts. He is astonished when Hagrid tells him about the wizarding bank, Gringotts, and that his parents kept all their money there. Harry spends much of the journey to London thinking about what Hagrid has told him about the wizarding world, questions for Hagrid filling his head.

When they arrive in London, Harry follows Hagrid until they they arrive on a bustling Muggle street. When Hagrid points out a grubby-looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron, Harry gets the distinct impression that they are the only two people on the street who can see it.

Harry doesn't know what to say when, as they walk through the Leaky Cauldron, he is the focus of all attention. He finds himself shaking hands again and again with the people in the pub, and is introduced to his new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell. Hagrid finally leads Harry out into a small courtyard at the back of the pub, where they are able to enter Diagon Alley. Harry can't believe all he is seeing, and stares around in amazement as he and Hagrid make their way down the street.

Harry and Hagrid are escorted down to his parent's Gringotts vault. When Griphook opens the door, Harry cannot believe his eyes as he takes in the mounds of gold, silver and bronze coins. He piles some of the money into a bag as Hagrid explains Wizarding money to him.

Harry and Hagrid visit many of the shops in Diagon Alley, buying his things for Hogwarts. Harry enters Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions alone. He is stood on a footstool next to another boy, Draco Malfoy, as Madam Malkin begins to fit him for his robes. Harry doesn't know what to say in response to Malfoy's conversation. He is quiet as he rejoins Hagrid outside, and eats his ice-cream.

Hagrid takes Harry to buy the remaining books and equipment needed for his first year, and Hagrid buys a Harry a beautiful snowy owl for his birthday (which Harry later names Hedwig).

Later, Harry buys a wand from Ollivanders. Mr Ollivander, the shop proprietor, tells Harry that a wand chooses a wizard rather than the other way around. The wand that chooses Harry is made of holly wood and has a phoenix-feather core; it is eleven inches long and supple. While packing up Harry’s wand Mr Ollivander says it is very curious that this specific wand has chosen Harry. He explains that the phoenix whose tail feather is in Harry’s wand, only gave one other feather. That feather is the core of Voldemort’s wand – the wand that gave Harry his scar.

Harry shares a compartment with Ron, a fellow first-year, on the Hogwarts Express. The two boys are equally interested in one another: Harry, in Ron’s upbringing in the wizarding world, and Ron in Harry’s status as the Boy Who Lived as well as his childhood with Muggles.

During the journey Harry also meets Hermione Granger and is properly introduced to Draco Malfoy. Draco offers his hand in friendship after insulting Ron; Harry declines and the two become enemies.

At the Sorting Ceremony, the Sorting Hat tells Harry that he could be great and that Slytherin could help him achieve that greatness. When Harry pleads not to be placed there, the hat puts him in Gryffindor instead.

During the feast, while watching Professor Snape talking to Professor Quirrell, Harry experiences a sharp pain in his scar. Percy tells Harry that it is common knowledge at the school that Professor Snape is after Professor Quirrell’s job teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts.

”

“

The doors to the castle are opened by a tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes. Harry's first thought when he sees her stern expression is that she is not someone to cross. The first years follow Professor McGonagall across the Entrace Hall, and are shown into an empty chamber just off the hall. They crowd together, peering about nervously. They listen as Professor McGonagall explains the Sorting Ceremony to them, and the traditions of the school. As she gazes around the students, Harry nervously flattens his hair.

A worried Harry asks Ron if he knows how the Sorting is done. His heart gives a jolt when Ron tells him he thinks they have to do some sort of test, and he anxiously wonders what he is going to have to do. He jumps about a foot in the air when some of the students behind him scream, and gasps as he sees about twenty ghosts glide through the back wall of the room. When Professor McGonagall returns, Harry gets into line and follows the other students through the double doors into the Great Hall.

At the Sorting Ceremony, the Sorting Hat tells Harry that he could be great and that Slytherin could help him achieve that greatness. When Harry pleads not to be placed there, the hat puts him in Gryffindor instead.

During the feast, while watching Professor Snape talking to Professor Quirrell, Harry experiences a sharp pain in his scar. Percy tells Harry that it is common knowledge at the school that Professor Snape is after Professor Quirrell’s job teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts.

During Harry’s first class with Professor Snape, Harry discovers that the Potions master hates him. Professor Snape sneers at him for being a ‘celebrity’ and taunts him for not knowing the answers to the Potions questions he poses.

After his first week of lessons, Harry accepts an invitation to Hagrid’s for tea; Ron accompanies him. While there, the two boys find out there was a break-in at Gringotts on the same day that Harry and Hagrid visited the bank. According to the newspaper article Harry reads, the thief attempted to take the contents of the vault Hagrid had emptied earlier.

Before his first flying lesson, Harry had never flown on a broomstick, but he quickly discovers he has a natural talent for it. When Draco throws Neville’sRemembrall Harry performs an impressive fifty-foot dive to catch it. Professor McGonagall sees the dive; instead of punishing Harry for flying without permission, she tells the Gryffindor Quidditch captain that she has found the team a Seeker.

Later that day, Draco challenges Harry to a duel, and Harry accepts. While sneaking out of the common room for the duel that night, Harry and Ron, followed by a furious Hermione, encounter Neville, who has been accidentally locked out of Gryffindor Tower. The group of four make their way to the trophy room, but Filch appears, apparently aware of the midnight meeting. The group assumes that Draco has tipped him off and run. They accidentally enter the forbidden third-floor corridor, and encounter a monstrous three-headed dog guarding a trapdoor.

The following day Harry receives a new broomstick (a Nimbus Two Thousand) and an introductory Quidditch lesson from Oliver Wood. Harry attends team practice three times a week from then on.

When a troll appears in the castle on Hallowe’en, Harry and Ron run to warn Hermione, who is in the girls’ toilets. They find the troll first, and accidentally lock it in the room with her, then, on realising, return to try and rescue her from danger. The three Gryffindors work together to knock out the troll with its own club, but nearly get in trouble for putting themselves in danger.

The day before his first Quidditch match, Harry finds out that Professor Snape has been injured by the three-headed dog. Harry starts to believe that Professor Snape may be trying to get past the three-headed dog in order to steal whatever it is guarding.

During Harry’s first Quidditch match, his broom starts behaving very erratically and becomes increasingly hard to control. Hermione, who believes the broom is being jinxed, scans the crowd and sees Professor Snape muttering under his breath; she rushes to the Potions master’s seat and surreptitiously sets his robes on fire in order to stop him. Harry is able to climb back on his broom and shortly afterwards catches the Golden Snitch by nearly swallowing it. Gryffindor wins the game.

After Hagrid accidentally reveals that someone named Nicolas Flamel is involved with whatever is being hidden at the school, Harry, Ron and Hermione spend all their free time trying to find out who he is, scouring the library for information.

Harry stays at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays; on Christmas Day he finds a present with an unsigned note, containing an Invisibility Cloak. The note says the cloak belonged to Harry’s father.

Harry uses the Invisibility Cloak to access the Restricted Section of the library and look for information on Nicolas Flamel. When he is almost caught by Filch, he runs blindly down the hallways, ending up in a disused classroom containing an old, ornate mirror with an inscription: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. When Harry looks into the mirror he can see his entire family behind him; it is the first time he has ever seen them.

Harry returns to the mirror the following two nights; on the third, Professor Dumbledore confronts him. The Headmaster explains that the Mirror of Erised shows a person the deepest desire of their hearts and warns that it is a vision that has been known to drive men mad. Professor Dumbledore tells Harry the mirror is being moved and asks him not to go looking for it again.

Harry discovers a reference to Nicolas Flamel on the back of the Chocolate Frog Card featuring Professor Dumbledore, which prompts Hermione to consult an old library book for more information: Flamel is an acclaimed alchemist and only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry believes that the Stone is what the three-headed dog is guarding.

After the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, Harry follows Professor Snape into the Forbidden Forest, where the Potions master meets Professor Quirrell. Harry eavesdrops on the conversation, which leads him to believe that Professor Snape is threatening Professor Quirrell into helping him steal the Philosopher’s Stone.

In the spring, Hagrid hatches a dragon egg (trade of which is banned in the wizarding world) and names him Norbert. Harry, Ron and Hermione devise a plan to get the dragon out of the school; they arrange for Norbert to be collected and taken to Ron’s older brother, Charlie, who works with dragons in Romania.

Late one night, Harry and Hermione take Norbert to the school’s tallest tower and successfully hand the dragon over to Charlie’s friends, but are caught on the way down by Filch.

Harry and Hermione each receive detention for being out of bed in the middle of the night, as do Neville and Draco (also for being out of bed). In addition, the Gryffindors lose fifty points each (Draco loses twenty). The combined loss of house points leaves Gryffindor in last place and Harry, Hermione and Neville in disgrace at school.

During Harry, Hermione, Neville and Draco’s detentions, Hagrid takes them into the Forbidden Forest to try and find an injured unicorn. Harry and Draco find the unicorn (which is now dead) first; to their horror, they watch as a hooded figure crouches over it, drinking blood from its body. It turns and tries to attack Harry, but the centaur Firenze intervenes and saves him. Firenze later implies that it is Voldemort who needs the unicorn’s blood to stay alive, and therefore it is him, who is trying to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone.

After his exams are finished, Harry realises that it was far too coincidental that Hagrid had the opportunity to acquire a rare and illegal dragon egg. He asks Hagrid more about how he came to own the egg, and Hagrid reveals that the dark stranger from whom he won it was interested in how to control the monstrous three-headed dog, Fluffy.

Sure that Professor Snape now has all the information he needs to steal the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry, Ron and Hermione try to warn Professor McGonagall. She assures them that the Philosopher’s Stone is safe. When Harry hears that Professor Dumbledore has left the school, however, he decides to try and find the Stone himself before Professor Snape steals it. Ron and Hermione accompany him.

After working with Ron and Hermione to get through the many magical enchantments protecting the Stone, Harry enters the final chamber alone. There, to his surprise, he finds, not Professor Snape, but Professor Quirrell, standing in front of the Mirror of Erised trying to figure out how to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone. When Professor Quirrell forces Harry in front of the mirror, Harry sees his reflection pulling the Stone out of his pocket and then putting it back in – as this happens Harry is surprised to feel the Philosopher’s Stone drop into his actual pocket.

Voldemort, who is possessing Professor Quirrell’s body, knows Harry has the Stone and orders Professor Quirrell to seize him; Professor Quirrell, however, cannot touch Harry without suffering terrible pain. Harry, realising this, keeps grabbing Professor Quirrell in order to protect the Stone, but passes out due to the effort and pain involved. Professor Dumbledore arrives in the chamber just in time to save Harry.

Harry wakes up in the hospital wing, surrounded by gifts and sweets from his admirers; according to Professor Dumbledore, what happened underneath the school has become common knowledge among students and staff. Professor Dumbledore explains what happened to Professor Quirrell and Voldemort, and answers some of Harry’s questions.

Later, Harry begs Madam Pomfrey to let Ron and Hermione visit, and she does so reluctantly; Harry explains to his friends what happened with Professor Quirrell and Voldemort. Hagrid also visits, bringing with him a gift: a leather-covered photo album full of pictures of Harry’s parents.

Harry is awarded sixty Gryffindor house points for his bravery, contributing to the last-minute House Cup win.

When Harry returns to number four, Privet Drive, he is treated as poorly as he was the year before. The Dursleys ignore him, mistreat him and make him do menial tasks.

Harry has not received any letters from his school friends over the summer, not even on his twelfth birthday. When Dudley taunts him about this, Harry loses his temper and pretends to threaten his cousin with magic, for which he is punished by being given a large amount of chores. While the rest of the family prepare for a dinner party with Vernon Dursley’s potential clients, the Masons, Harry eats a dinner of bread and cheese and is sent to hide in his bedroom.

When Harry retreats to his room to stay out of sight for the Dursleys' dinner party, he finds a house-elf, Dobby, on his bed. Claiming that mortal danger awaits him at Hogwarts, Dobby tries to dissuade Harry from returning to school, and reveals that it is he who has been intercepting Harry's letters for this purpose.

When Harry refuses to promise not to return to school, Dobby uses a Hover Charm to ruin the magnificent pudding that Petunia Dursley has prepared for dessert. The Dursleys blame Harry for this, as does the Ministry of Magic, warning him by owl that any further use of spells may result in expulsion from Hogwarts. The Dursleys, no longer afraid that Harry might use magic on them, lock Harry in his bedroom, give him food through a cat-flap in the door and only let him out periodically to use the bathroom.

Harry escapes from the Dursleys' with the help of Ron, Fred and George, who appear in the middle of the night with a flying car. They fly to The Burrow, where the Weasleys live. Harry stays with them for the remainder of the summer.

Harry is made to feel very welcome at The Burrow. He is very taken with it and tells Ron that it is the best house he has ever been in.

Harry is intrigued at the prospect of de-gnoming the garden, never having seen it done before. At first he is reluctant to throw the creatures over the hedge, but after receiving a bite on the finger from one of the gnomes he learns not to feel sorry for them.

Harry receives a letter from school at The Burrow, which means that Professor Dumbledore knows he has left the Dursleys'.

Harry isn't sure what to do when Molly Weasley offers him a flowerpot of Floo powder. After watching Fred and George use it, and receiving many tips from the Weasleys, Harry attempts to travel by Floo powder for the first time.

Harry, Ron and Hermione go off on their own, but meet up again with the Weasleys at Flourish and Blotts, where Gilderoy Lockhart is holding a book-signing. When Lockhart sees Harry, he gives him a complimentary set of his books, poses with Harry for a newspaper picture and makes an announcement that he will be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts that year. Harry gets away from him as fast as he can, and gives the set of books he has just received to Ginny Weasley.

”

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Harry and the Weasleys plan tomeet [sic] up with Hermione and her parents in London to acquire their school things.Harry uses Floo powder for the first time to travel from The Burrow to London.He coughs while pronouncing his destination, “Diagon Alley”, and instead ofarriving there he ends up in a large, dimly lit shop called Borgin and Burkes.Harry sees Draco Malfoy approaching outside and hides in a cabinet while Dracoand his father Lucius sell some of their possessions to Mr Borgin.

After Draco and Lucius Malfoy leave, Harry escapes Borgin and Burkes and exits onto Knockturn Alley, a shadowy lane that seems devoted only to the Dark Arts. Luckily Hagrid finds Harry and drags him back out to Diagon Alley where he is reunited with the worried Weasleys.

Harry, Ron and Hermione go off on their own, but meet up again with the Weasleys at Flourish and Blotts, where Gilderoy Lockhart is holding a book-signing. When Lockhart sees Harry, he gives him a complimentary set of his books, poses with Harry for a newspaper picture and makes an announcement that he will be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts that year. Harry gets away from him as fast as he can, and gives the set of books he has just received to Ginny Weasley.

On September the first, Harry and the Weasley family leave The Burrow for King’s Cross station. Harry and Ron are the last to run towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten, but they crash straight into it and are unable to gain access to platform nine and three-quarters. As they believe they have missed the Hogwarts Express, Harry and Ron decide to take the flying Ford Anglia and follow the train north.

When Harry and Ron reach the Hogwarts grounds they crash land into a tree, which beats them with its thick branches. They later learn that this tree is the Whomping Willow.

Upon their arrival at Hogwarts, Professor Snape takes Harry and Ron to his office and chastises them for being seen flying over London by Muggles. Professor McGonagall gives both Harry and Ron a detention and Professor Dumbledore writes to both families to inform them of their actions.

Harry feels extremely guilty when he learns, via the Howler, that Arthur Weasley is facing an enquiry at work thanks to the flying car, particularly after all that the Weasleys did for him over the summer.

On the first day of classes, Harry feels as though everything he learnt last year has leaked out of his head over the summer. In their first Herbology class of the year Harry and the other second-years are excited to be working in Greenhouse Three. In the lesson, Professor Sprout gets the class to re-pot Mandrakes.

During their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, Harry, Ron and Hermione are forced to recapture a cage full of Cornish pixies set loose by Professor Lockhart.

At their first Quidditch practice of the year, the Gryffindor team is prevented from training by the arrival of the Slytherin team. Snape has given the Slytherin team permission to use the pitch in order to train their new Seeker, Draco. The Slytherin team all carry brand new Nimbus Two Thousand and One broomsticks, which were a gift from Draco's father Lucius.

In detention, Harry assists Lockhart with his fan mail by addressing the envelopes. Whilst in Lockhart's office, Harry hears a chilling, disembodied voice, which Lockhart seems not to hear.

Harry agrees to attend Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party on Hallowe'en as a thank you to Nick for creating a distraction, which prevented Harry from being punished by Argus Filch. Harry, Ron and Hermione attend the Deathday Party, which is held in the dungeons and attended by numerous ghosts and Peeves the poltergeist. The only food present is rotten and unsuitable for the living.

When they leave the party, cold and hungry, Harry hears the disembodied voice again. He follows it through the castle until, on the second floor, they come across a corridor with a message daubed in foot-high words proclaiming that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Filch’s cat, Mrs Norris, hangs immobile from a torch bracket. Harry, Ron and Hermione try to move away but the Hallowe’en feast has finished and most of the school witnesses them standing in front of the ominous message. Harry, Ron and Hermione go with the rest of the Professors to Lockhart’s office to examine the cat, where they discover it is not dead but Petrified. They are questioned and dismissed.

Harry is interested to hear Professor Binns recount the legend of the Chamber of Secrets in his History of Magic lesson.

After hearing the legend of the Chamber of Secrets from Professor Binns, Harry, Ron and Hermione investigate the scene of the attack on Mrs Norris. They discover scorch marks and spiders scurrying to leave the castle. They come up with a plan to try to discover the identity of the heir of Slytherin: brew Polyjuice Potion and investigate the Slytherins.

Harry, Ron and Hermione get a signed permission note from Lockhart in order to get the book they require to brew Polyjuice Potion. Once they have the book they discover that the potion is extremely difficult to brew and in order to complete it they will need to steal ingredients from Snape’s private stores.

The next day, at the Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match, a Bludger appears to go out of its way to injure Harry. Harry notices the Snitch just as the Bludger slams into, and breaks, his arm. Despite his broken arm, Harry manages to catch the Snitch. Lockhart tries to repair Harry’s arm, but instead removes the bones; Harry goes to the hospital wing and drinks a potion that will allow him to regrow them.

During the night, Harry is woken by Dobby, who admits that he charmed the Bludger in an attempt to injure him seriously enough to send him home from school. A short while later, Harry witnesses McGonagall, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey carrying a Petrified Colin Creevey to the hospital wing. Harry overhears Dumbledore admit that this is proof that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again.

Harry, Ron and Hermione begin work on the Polyjuice Potion the next day. In mid-December Harry helps Hermione steal ingredients from Snape by creating a distraction in class. The plan succeeds, though Harry feels as though Snape could tell it was his doing.

During the third week of December, Harry, Ron and Hermione attend the Duelling Club. During the club’s first session, Snape pits Harry against Draco. Draco uses a spell that makes a snake appear from his wand; Harry, thinking that the snake is about to attack Justin, tells it to leave him alone. To Harry's surprise, the snake complies. The rest of the students stare at Harry silently, while Ron and Hermione escort him back to their common room. Ron and Hermione explain that they heard Harry speaking to the snake in snake language, Parseltongue, and that this ability is a trademark of Salazar Slytherin. The school begins to think that Harry is Slytherin’s heir and the person behind the attacks on fellow pupils.

McGonagall takes Harry from the site of the attack on Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick to Dumbledore’s office, claiming the matter is now out of her hands.

While in Dumbledore’s office, Harry tries on the Sorting Hat again and asks it what house he belongs in; the Hat says it stands by its decree that Harry would have done well in Slytherin. Harry also watches as Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, explodes into flame and then emerges reborn from the ashes. When Dumbledore asks Harry if he has anything he wants to tell him, Harry says no.

On Christmas Day, Harry and Ron hide Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe in a cupboard off the Entrance Hall after tricking them into eating cakes laced with a Sleeping Draught. They steal some of Crabbe and Goyle's hair - and their shoes - and head to Myrtle's bathroom to take the Polyjuice Potion with Hermione.

Harry and Ron successfully transform into Crabbe and Goyle when they take the Polyjuice Potion. They are initially unable to find the Slytherin common room but they eventually bump into Draco who leads them there. While with Draco they discover three things: that Draco is not the heir of Slytherin; that the Malfoys hide Dark objects under their drawing-room floor; and that someone died the last time the Chamber was opened.

An angry outburst from Filch leads Harry and Ron to find that Myrtle has thrown a tantrum and flooded the bathroom that she haunts. Upon further inspection of the bathroom they discover a fifty-year-old diary with the name T. M. Riddle inside, which had been thrown in the toilet and then washed under a sink in Myrtle's flood. Harry pockets the book despite Ron's warnings that it could be dangerous.

On Valentine’s Day, one of the dwarfs hired by Lockhart to distribute Valentines charges Harry down and makes him listen to a musical message, ripping his bag and smashing his ink bottle over his possessions in the process. Although all of his other books are covered in scarlet ink Riddle's diary remains unstained.

Harry tries writing in Riddle's diary and the diary starts writing back. Riddle, who appears to be doing the writing, claims that he knows what happened fifty years ago when the Chamber of Secrets was last opened. He takes Harry into his memory to show him.

Right before the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match, Harry hears the voice again, prompting Hermione to have a revelation (and run to the library). Harry and Ron continue to the match, confused about what Hermione has just understood. Harry is just mounting his broom for the match when McGonagall marches onto the field and calls off the game; Hermione and Penelope Clearwater have been found Petrified in the castle.

That night, Harry and Ron go to Hagrid’s hut to ask him about the attacks, and, while hiding under the Invisibility Cloak, they witness Cornelius Fudge arresting Hagrid. Lucius also arrives to deliver an Order of Suspension to Dumbledore, apparently owing to his inability to stop the attacks.

Just before he is led away to Azkaban by Fudge, Hagrid announces that anyone who wanted to know more about the Chamber of Secrets should follow the spiders. In Herbology, while pruning Abyssinian Shrivelfigs, Harry spots several large spiders seemingly heading for the Forbidden Forest.

That night Harry and Ron sneak down to Hagrid's hut under the Invisibility Cloak to collect Fang and follow the spiders into the Forest. All three of them are seized and carried through the Forest to the domed web of an enormous spider named Aragog, who reveals that he was the creature that Hagrid was keeping in the castle but that he is not the monster from the Chamber. Aragog reveals that the girl who died last time the Chamber was open had been found in a bathroom, but says he had nothing to do with the attack and that Hagrid had been wrongly blamed. Harry and Ron barely escape Aragog and his family, but they are saved by the Ford Anglia. Later, Harry realises that the girl who was found in the bathroom could have been Myrtle.

Harry and Ron decide to go and question Myrtle about her death. After they have slipped away from Lockhart they bump into McGonagall. She is very angry until Harry lies and says that they are on the way to visit Hermione in the hospital wing. McGonagall gives them permission to visit her, and while they are sitting by her bed Harry notices a piece of paper scrunched up in her fist. The information on the piece of paper leads Harry to conclude that the monster is a Basilisk. Harry is able hear the voice because he can understand - and talk to - snakes.

Harry and Ron are about to tell the professors about the Basilisk when they discover that Ginny has been taken into the Chamber itself. Harry and Ron overhear the teachers preparing to close the school. Believing that Lockhart is going to attempt to go into the Chamber to fight the monster, Harry and Ron go to his office to tell him where they think the Chamber is and to warn him about the Basilisk, but they find Lockhart preparing to flee. They hold him at wandpoint and force him to go with them to Myrtle's bathroom. There Harry finds the entrance to the Chamber - a tap with a snake scratched into the side. He tells it to open in Parseltongue and a large pipe is revealed in the wall behind the sink, down which Lockhart, Ron and Harry travel.

In a dark tunnel littered with animal bones Harry, Ron and Lockhart encounter an enormous shed snakeskin. Lockhart tries to wipe Harry and Ron's memories using Ron's broken wand, but the spell backfires and causes a rockfall which separates Harry from the others. He proceeds alone.

Harry finds Ginny lying unconscious in the Chamber and is trying to revive her when he is startled by Tom Riddle. Riddle tells Harry that it is Ginny who has been opening the Chamber of Secrets. Riddle reveals himself to be a young Lord Voldemort, preserved as a memory in the diary, and he asks Harry how he survived the attack on him as a baby.

Harry is aided in the Chamber by Fawkes the phoenix who arrives carrying the Sorting Hat after Harry displays loyalty towards Dumbledore. Fawkes blinds the Basilisk so that his stare is no longer fatal. When Harry puts on the Sorting Hat and asks for help a sword appears inside and he is able to kill the Basilisk with it, but not before one of the Basilisk's fangs pierces his arm.

Riddle thinks that the venom of the Basilisk will kill Harry, but Harry is cured by Fawkes' healing tears. Harry pierces the diary with the fang and destroys the memory of Riddle along with it. Ginny then awakes and Harry is able to take her out of the Chamber to safety.

Harry and the others are carried out of the Chamber by Fawkes who leads them to McGonagall's study. There they find Molly, Arthur, McGonagall and Dumbledore. After Harry recounts the tale he and Ron receive two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor and Special Awards for Services to the School for their actions.

When Harry realises that it was Lucius who planted the diary with Ginny, and that Dobby is the Malfoys' house-elf, he tricks Lucius into giving Dobby a sock and freeing him from service. Lucius is furious and lunges at Harry but Dobby protects him.

Harry returns to the Dursleys' and spends a miserable month at Privet Drive, forbidden from using his spellbooks, wand, cauldron and broomstick which have been locked away. In order to complete the holiday work assigned by his teachers, Harry picks the lock on the cupboard under the stairs to retrieve his school books, and studies secretly at night. In the early hours of the 31st of July, Harry sees a large, strangely lopsided creature approaching his window. The creature is in fact three owls delivering various letters for his birthday. Harry receives cards, presents and letters from Hermione, Ron and Hagrid. He also receives a letter from Hogwarts which contains his new school booklist and a reminder that third-years are permitted to visit Hogsmeade at certain weekends, providing they have a signed permission form from a parent or guardian.

Harry dreads having Aunt Marge to stay and during her visit after his thirteenth birthday he finds himself thinking almost longingly of life at number four without her. Vernon tells Marge that Harry attends St Brutus’s Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys and Harry agrees to play along if Vernon signs his Hogsmeade permission form. Despite the insults Marge directs at him, Harry tries to remain calm by forcing himself to think of Hogsmeade and his Broomstick Servicing Kit. When Marge makes derogatory remarks about Harry's parents on the final night of her stay he loses control and causes her to inflate like a massive life buoy. Harry storms out of number four in a rage, dragging his trunk and Hedwig's cage with him.

Harry collapses on a wall in Magnolia Crescent, concerned that he will be expelled from Hogwarts and outlawed from the wizarding world for breaking the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry. Without Hedwig he has no way of contacting Ron or Hermione, and he feels completely stranded. While sitting in Magnolia Crescent Harry senses that someone - or something - is watching him from the narrow gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry casts Lumos and sees, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.

Harry steps backwards and trips over his trunk, sticking out his right hand to break his fall. He lands in the gutter and his wand flies out of his hand. There is a deafening bang and Harry throws up his hands to shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light ...

Harry stumbles backwards onto the pavement as the Knight Bus screeches to a halt in front of him. The conductor, Stan Shunpike, is suspicious when he notices something on Harry's forehead, and asks Harry for his name. Not wanting to be recognised, Harry flattens his fringe, and tells Stan his name is Neville Longbottom. He pays Stan for passage to London and is given the bed directly behind the driver, Ernie Prang. With another great bang, the Knight Bus departs, the speed of the bus flinging Harry flat on his bed. After noticing the newspaper article about Sirius Black in the Daily Prophet Stan and Ernie are surprised that 'Neville' didn't know Black was a wizard. The Knight Bus delivers Harry to the Leaky Cauldron pub in London where, to his surprise, he is met at the door by Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic.

Harry spends several days getting used to the freedom he enjoys away from the Dursleys. He amuses himself watching the other guests at the Leaky Cauldron, and spends his afternoons exploring Diagon Alley. Without the restrictions of Privet Drive, Harry is able to finish his schoolwork, visit Gringotts, and buy his books and supplies for the coming school year. He is fascinated by the latest broomstick in Quality Quidditch Supplies, the Firebolt, but resists buying it. As the days go by, Harry spends more time looking out for Ron and Hermione, having already seen many of his school friends shopping in Diagon Alley. Finally, on the last day of the holidays, Harry sees Ron and Hermione at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.

Harry accompanies Hermione and Ron to the Magical Menagerie. He follows Ron out of the shop in search of Scabbers, who has fled from a cat. Having located the rat, and rejoined Hermione, the trio go back to the Leaky Cauldron, where they find the majority of the Weasley family. Harry has an enjoyable dinner with the Weasleys, and makes his way upstairs to finish packing. After interrupting a fight between Ron and Percy, Harry heads downstairs in search of Scabbers's Rat Tonic. Halfway along the passage to the bar, Harry hears a pair of angry voices, and recognises them to be Arthur and Molly Weasley. Listening to their argument, Harry learns that Sirius Black, the convict, escaped with the intention of murdering him. Back in his room, Harry contemplates this disturbing revelation, wondering why he doesn't feel more scared.

As they arrive at platform nine and three-quarters, Harry is taken aside by Arthur Weasley, who starts to try and tell Harry about Sirius Black. Harry admits that he overheard he and Molly talking the previous night. Whilst Harry is afraid that Arthur will ask him to restrict himself to the castle this year, he instead makes Harry promise that he won't go looking for Black, which leaves Harry confused.

On the Hogwarts Express, Harry, Ron and Hermione end up sharing a compartment with a sleeping Professor Lupin. Harry fills them in on what he overheard the night before, and as the conversation turns to Hogsmeade, he admits that he hasn't been able to get his permission form signed.

As the Hogwarts Express nears its destination, the train slows to a halt and its lights are extinguished. A Dementor enters the compartment, filling it with an intense cold, and Harry begins to feel as if he is drowning in it; he can hear a terrified screaming in the distance, and tries to help but cannot move. Slowly, he comes round, and finds himself lying on the floor of the carriage with Ron and Hermione kneeling beside him.

When they reach the castle Harry is ushered into Professor McGonagall's office along with Hermione. He is mortified when Madam Pomfrey, the matron, suggests that he spend a night in the hospital wing, as he fears Draco Malfoy's taunts.

As Harry arrives in the Great Hall at breakfast, he is confronted by Draco Malfoy who makes fun of him for his reaction to the Dementors. The Slytherins are entertained by Draco's actions, but Fred and George Weasley tell Harry that Draco ran into their compartment on the train, terrified of the Dementors. Fred and George also remind Harry that Quidditch will be starting soon and that Harry can get his own back in the match against Slytherin.

Harry makes his way to Divination with Ron and Hermione; however, after climbing a seventh staircase, they emerge on an unfamiliar corridor. Spotting a pony entering a portrait, Harry watches the painting as a knight appears in pursuit of his horse. The knight, Sir Cadogan, challenges Harry, Ron and Hermione initially; but when Harry asks for directions, he leads the trio to their classroom, delighted to be included in a quest.

In their first Divination lesson Professor Trelawney instructs the class to read one anothers' tea leaves, using their copies of Unfogging the Future to help them interpret what they see. Harry isn't greatly successful at reading Ron's tea leaves, telling him that he is going to have trials and suffering, but is also going to experience great happiness. Ron's predictions for Harry are interrupted by Trelawney, who predicts great danger for Harry, before informing Harry that she sees the Grim: the omen of death. Harry becomes irritated as his classmates debate whether his tea leaves show the Grim or not. In Transfiguration class, Harry sits at the back of the classroom, trying to avoid glances from his fellow Gryffindors. When Professor McGonagall picks up on the sombre mood of the class, she informs Harry that Trelawney predicts the death of at least one student every year, and has never yet been proved right.

At first, Harry worries that Hagrid is going to take the class into the Forbidden Forest for their first lesson with him, but he is pleasantly surprised when Hagrid leads them to a paddock on the edge of the trees. He defends Hagrid when Draco Malfoy ridicules The Monster Book of Monsters. Harry, Ron and Hermione are the only three to approach the paddock of Hippogriffs and, after some hesitation, Harry volunteers to be the first student to try bowing to one. Hagrid instructs Harry throughout his interaction with Buckbeak, and Harry is accepted by the Hippogriff. With Hagrid's encouragement, Harry is first allowed to pet Buckbeak, and then able to ride him. Buckbeak flies him once around the paddock. After Harry's success, he watches Ron and Hermione with a different, chestnut Hippogriff. After Buckbeak attacks Draco, Harry, Ron and Hermione worry that Hagrid might be sacked. Harry notices a light on in Hagrid's hut and, after convincing Hermione that he is allowed out within the grounds, the trio go to visit Hagrid. The friends try to reassure Hagrid, with little success. As Hagrid sobers up, he becomes very angry with Harry for leaving the castle after dark. He escorts the trio back to Hogwarts immediately.

In Professor Lupin's first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, Harry and his classmates are taken to the staff room, where Lupin has found a Boggart. After practising the charm to repel Boggarts, Harry watches the class face it in turn, wondering what shape the Boggart will take when it sees him. When it comes to Harry's turn, however, Lupin stops him from confronting the Boggart, facing it himself. Harry is disappointed by this, and leaves the lesson wondering why Lupin had deliberately stopped him tackling the Boggart.

As October arrives, Harry is increasingly excited about the approach of the Quidditch season. He attends a meeting with the rest of the team to discuss tactics for the coming matches. When a notice for the first Hogsmeade weekend goes up in the common room, Harry is disappointed that he won't be able to go.

After Ron and Hermione leave for Hogsmeade, Harry wanders listlessly around Hogwarts, trying to decide how to spend his day. When he passes Professor Lupin's office, the teacher invites him in to look at a newly arrived Grindylow. Harry asks Lupin why he was not allowed to face the Boggart. He is surprised when Snape enters the office with a potion for Lupin, curious as to why Lupin needs a potion from Snape. Suspicious of the potion, Harry is worried when Lupin drinks it.

When Hermione and Ron return from Hogsmeade, Harry listens as they tell him all about the village, and relates the events which occurred in Lupin's office. The friends make their way to the Great Hall for the Hallowe'en feast, talking about Snape.

After the Hallowe'en feast, Harry, Ron and Hermione make their way back to Gryffindor Tower. As they reach the corridor where the portrait of the Fat Lady hangs, they find it jammed with students, the portrait apparently closed. As Dumbledore arrives in the corridor, Harry, Ron and Hermione move closer to see what the problem is. They see that the portrait of the Fat Lady has been viciously slashed to bits, and the lady herself has vanished.

Dumbledore asks that the students spend the night in the Great Hall while the castle is searched for Black. Harry, Ron and Hermione drag their sleeping bags into a corner of the Great Hall to talk. At around three in the morning, Harry sees Professor Dumbledore re-enter. Pretending to be asleep, he listens to Dumbledore's conversation with Percy and Professor Snape, and wonders later what it meant.

Harry finds himself being closely watched after the attack on the Fat Lady; both teachers and students find excuses to escort him around the castle. He is summoned to Professor McGonagall's office, where she attempts to tell him about Sirius Black. Harry admits that he already knows Black is after him, and is outraged when McGonagall suggests that he should stop practising Quidditch in the evenings. He points out that he has to train for the match on Saturday, knowing McGonagall's desire for Gryffindor success, and manages to persuade her to let him train.

Harry is furious when he hears that the Slytherins have pulled out of the Quidditch match, as he is sure that Malfoy is faking his injury.

Harry is woken early on the morning of the Quidditch match by Peeves blowing cold air on the back of his neck. He finds it difficult to get back to sleep and eventually gives up. Harry feels nervous about the match when he hears the bad weather outside, knowing that the match won't be cancelled because of a thunderstorm. Within five minutes of the start of the match, Harry is soaked to the skin; hardly able to see his teammates, let alone the Snitch. He is thrilled when Hermione appears during the time out and casts a spell that enables his glasses to repel water. Harry soon sees Cedric Diggory chasing the Snitch, but as he flies towards them he feels a cold sensation sweep over him. Harry sees a swarm of Dementors standing below him; he hears a shrill laughing in his head, a woman pleading and screaming, and becomes aware that he is falling through the air.

Harry wakes to find himself in the hospital wing with the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Ron and Hermione gathered around his bed. Harry asks them what happened and, expecting a rematch to be announced, is upset when he hears that Cedric Diggory caught the Snitch and Gryffindor lost. When the team leaves, Harry asks Ron and Hermione about the fate of his broomstick. He is upset when he is told the Nimbus Two Thousand blew into the Whomping Willow, and watches Hermione tip the remains onto his bed.

Harry remains in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. He refuses to let Madam Pomfrey throw away the pieces of his Nimbus Two Thousand. Harry worries about having now seen the Grim twice, and about his reaction to the Dementors. He realises the woman he hears screaming when Dementors are near is his mother, in the last moments of her life.

Harry is relieved to return to class after the weekend, and is glad to see Professor Lupin teaching once again. At the end of his lesson, Harry is called aside by Lupin. When Harry learns that there might be a way to defend himself against Dementors, he persuades Lupin to teach him next term. Harry is in a much better mood following his meeting with Lupin, and even more so when he finds out Gryffindor still has a chance at the Quidditch Cup.

When the students learn that there will be another Hogsmeade trip before the end of term, Harry resigns himself to spending another day alone in the castle. On the morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry says goodbye to Ron and Hermione, and heads towards Gryffindor Tower. On the way, he meets Fred and George, who are hiding behind a statue of a humpbacked witch. He follows the twins into an empty classroom, where they present him with the Marauder's Map. He watches in astonishment as the twins show him how the map works.

Harry is initially hesitant to use the map, rememembering Riddle's enchanted diary from the year before, but decides to go ahead. Following the instructions that appear beside the figure of himself on the map, he taps the witch's hump, mutters Dissendium, and enters the passage to Hogsmeade as it opens.

Harry hurries along the passage, holding his wand in front of him. After what feels like an hour, the passage rises and ten minutes later Harry arrives at the foot of some stairs. He loses count of the stairs he climbs, eventually hitting his head on a trapdoor. He slowly pushes it open, and finds himself in a cellar full of crates and boxes. Harry climbs out of the trapdoor, and creeps towards the staircase that leads upstairs. He hears someone coming down the stairs, and hides behind a crate; when the man is occupied on the other side of the cellar, Harry takes the opportunity to head upstairs, and finds himself behind the counter in Honeydukes. Ducking into the main shop, he sees Ron and Hermione and sneaks up behind them. When they ask him how he got there, Harry tells them about the Marauder's Map. Harry is quick to dismiss Hermione's concerns about Sirius Black using the passages on the map. They show Harry around Honeydukes, then make their way out into the street where they decide to head for the Three Broomsticks.

In the Three Broomsticks, Harry and Hermione make their way to the back of the pub to a table by a window. When they notice McGonagall and Flitwick entering the pub with Hagrid and Cornelius Fudge, Harry is forced off his stool and under the table by Ron and Hermione. From the floor, Harry sees the teachers sit at the table next to them. He can't believe he didn't realise that the teachers would come to Hogsmeade as well as students, and wonders how long the teachers will stay, as he needs time to sneak into Honeydukes and back to Hogwarts.

Harry listens to the teachers' conversation and drops his tankard in shock when he overhears Madam Rosmerta saying that James Potter, Harry's father, was best friends with Sirius Black when they were at Hogwarts. Harry listens to the rest of their conversation in silence, including Fudge's revelation that Sirius Black is not only his godfather, but is also the one who betrayed his parents to Voldemort. When the teachers eventually leave, Harry sees Ron and Hermione staring at him under the table in shock.

Harry sneaks up to his dormitory when he returns from Hogsmeade. In shock about what he overheard in the Three Broomsticks, he retrieves his photograph album from his bedside cabinet. Stopping on a picture of his parents' wedding day, he looks at their best man: a younger and more handsome Sirius Black. As he lies in bed, Harry is filled with hatred for Black. He feels that Ron and Hermione do not understand the effect on him of what they discovered the day before. When Ron suggests going to see Hagrid, Harry agrees, wanting to ask Hagrid why he never mentioned Black when he was telling Harry about his parents.

In Hagrid's hut, Harry spots an official-looking letter lying open on the table. Reading it aloud, Harry discovers that although Hagrid is not being blamed for the Hippogriff attack on Draco Malfoy, there is to be an inquiry held regarding Buckbeak. Harry suggests asking Dumbledore for help, but Hagrid refuses, saying he has done more than enough. Harry can't bring himself to get cross with Hagrid about Sirius Black when he is so distressed about Buckbeak.

Harry wakes on Christmas Day with a small pile of presents at the foot of his bed. He spots a long, thin parcel underneath the rest of the presents, and is stunned when he opens it to find a brand new Firebolt. Ron wonders who would spend that much money on him and they try, in vain, to find a card. Harry is surprised that Hermione is not as enthusiastic about the Firebolt as he and Ron are. After Christmas lunch in the Great Hall, Harry goes straight to the dormitory and fetches the Firebolt down to the common room. As he and Ron are admiring the broomstick, they see Hermione enter the common room with Professor McGonagall. Harry is upset when McGonagall informs him that she will have to take the Firebolt away, to strip it down and check it for jinxes. He stares after her in disbelief as she leaves the common room with the broomstick.

Harry is angry with Hermione for telling McGonagall about the Firebolt. He is positive nothing is wrong with the broomstick, and worries what state it will be in after being subjected to the anti-jinx tests. Harry is glad when the holidays are over, and the rest of the students return. When Oliver Wood is concerned about Harry's reaction to the Dementors, Harry reassures him that he is working on a way to ward off the Dementors. After Harry's first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson of term, Harry reminds Lupin of his promise to give him Anti-Dementor lessons. They agree to start the lessons that week.

Harry arrives at the History of Magic classroom on Thursday evening, and waits for Professor Lupin to arrive. He is apprehensive, but is glad Lupin has brought a Boggart to use, as a substitute for a Dementor. Harry practises the incantation that Lupin teaches him, managing to produce a wispy silver gas from his wand. He is conflicted about facing the Boggart, unsure whether he wants to hear his mother's voice or not. The first time he confronts the Boggart, Harry wakes on the floor of the classroom. He is determined to try again. Choosing a new memory to concentrate on, Harry faces the Boggart a second time. When he wakes once more on the classroom floor, he tells Lupin he heard his father's voice for the first time, and is intrigued when Lupin mentions he knew James. Harry decides to focus on the day he discovered he was a wizard instead. Although he hears the screaming again, Harry manages to stay conscious, and produces a cloudy Patronus. He feels drained as he walks back to Gryffindor Tower, and knows he will not be able to produce a proper Patronus whilst he consciously wants to hear his parents' voices.

Harry and Ron continue to wonder how Hermione is managing her workload. Harry delays ordering a new broom, and badgers McGonagall about the Firebolt after every Transfiguration lesson, with no luck. He continues to go to Lupin's Anti-Dementor lessons, but is disappointed when he is still unable to produce a Patronus. Harry is thrilled when McGonagall returns his Firebolt in February. He decides that he and Ron should make up with Hermione, as she was only trying to help. When they enter the common room, Harry and Ron approach Hermione's table, to tell her the Firebolt is back. When Ron takes the broomstick upstairs, Harry joins her at the table, taking in the huge amount of work she is trying to do. He worries that she is doing too much, and asks why she doesn't drop a subject or two. Their conversation is interrupted by Ron storming over to them, clutching a bloody sheet in his hand.

Harry tries to cheer Ron up after the disappearance of Scabbers by offering to let him fly the Firebolt after the Gryffindor Quidditch practice. Harry is thrilled with his Firebolt, and flies better than he ever has before, as do the rest of the team. Ron flies the Firebolt after the practice while Harry watches. When darkness falls, the boys make their way back to the castle. On the way, Harry spots a pair of eyes staring at him in the dark. He is relieved when it turns out to be Crookshanks, as he thought he was seeing the Grim again.

There is great excitement about the Firebolt when Harry brings it into the Great Hall on the morning of the match. As the Gryffindors walk out onto the pitch to meet the Ravenclaws, Harry notices that their Seeker is very pretty, and she smiles at him as the teams face one another. When the match begins, Harry speeds around the stadium looking for the Snitch, easily outflying the other players. As he speeds towards the Snitch in a third attempt to catch it, he is distracted by the arrival of three Dementors on the pitch. Without thinking, Harry whips out his wand, performs the Patronus Charm, and continues to chase the Snitch, finally catching it. Harry is ecstatic, not only about winning the match, but also about producing a Patronus. Professor Lupin is impressed with the Patronus but explains to Harry that the Dementors weren't real. Harry follows Lupin away from the crowd where he sees Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint lying on the floor, swamped by long, hooded robes and being shouted at by a furious Professor McGonagall.

The Gryffindors celebrate their victory against Ravenclaw in the common room. Harry spots Hermione sitting in the corner, and goes over to her in an attempt to persuade her to join the celebrations. After Hermione flees the common room in tears following a comment from Ron about Scabbers, Harry asks Ron to give her a break, which Ron refuses to do. Harry eventually makes his way to the dormitory with Ron, and he falls asleep quickly into a strange dream. He is woken from it suddenly by a terrified scream. Drawing his curtains, he sees Ron sitting up in his bed, looking terrified, with the hangings of his own bed torn on one side.

Although security in Hogwarts is tightened following the incident in Gryffindor Tower, Harry notices that the statue at the entrance to the Honeydukes passage is unguarded. He wonders whether they should tell someone, but is glad when Ron disagrees, not wanting to lose his route to Hogsmeade. Harry and Ron are invited to tea with Hagrid, and make their way to the Entrance Hall later that evening to wait for him. Harry feels guilty as he realises that he has forgotten about Buckbeak's trial, and more so when he hears that Hermione has been helping Hagrid on top of all her work. When they return to the common room, Harry and Ron find that the latest Hogsmeade date has been announced. Harry plans to use the passageway to enter the village again, but decides to take his Invisibility Cloak with him this time.

On the morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry packs his Invisibility Cloak in his bag, puts the Marauder's Map in his pocket, and goes to breakfast. He is careful to let Hermione see him walking away from the Hogsmeade group before making his way to the statue on the third floor. Neville appears just as Harry opens the statue's hump. Harry tries to get Neville to leave, with little success, before they are joined by Professor Snape who sends them both back to Gryffindor Tower. At the portrait hole, Harry finds an excuse to leave Neville and make his way back to the statue. Under the Invisibility Cloak Harry enters Hogsmeade and joins Ron outside Honeydukes. They walk around the village, then climb up a slope to the Shrieking Shack. As they look up at the house, Harry and Ron hear voices coming towards them, and see Malfoy arrive with Crabbe and Goyle. Under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry restrains Ron when Malfoy insults him and takes the opportunity of being invisible to throw mud at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. As Crabbe blunders around in an attempt to locate the source of the attack, Harry sticks his leg out to trip him. As he does so, the Cloak slides off his face, leaving his head visible. Harry covers himself with the cloak again but it is too late, as he has already been seen. He runs straight back to the castle in case Malfoy goes back and tells anyone what he has seen.

When he arrives back at Hogwarts, Harry is taken straight to Professor Snape's office in the dungeons. Harry attempts to look surprised when Snape outlines Malfoy's story and refuses to be goaded into telling the truth. When he is ordered to turn out his pockets, Harry tells Snape that Ron bought him the Hogsmeade products that he is carrying. He becomes nervous when Snape examines the Marauder's Map, and watches in horror when writing appears on its surface, insulting Snape. After Snape calls Professor Lupin to his office to examine the map, Harry's story is corroborated by the appearance of Ron who maintains that he bought Harry the joke products. Harry and Ron leave Snape's office with Lupin, and Harry isn't surprised when Lupin refuses to give the map back. Harry walks back to Gryffindor Tower with Ron, feeling terrible after Lupin reproaches him for his behaviour. As he and Ron arrive at the corridor to Gryffindor Tower, Harry sees Hermione and guesses that she has heard what happened. He worries that she has told Professor McGonagall.

On the morning of the Quidditch final against Slytherin, Harry enters the Great Hall with the rest of the Quidditch team to enormous applause. He grins as he sees the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables cheering for Gryffindor as well. Harry makes his way onto the Quidditch pitch as Lee introduces the Gryffindor team. When the match starts, Harry speeds off in search of the Snitch, keeping an eye on the rest of the match. Spotting the Snitch, Harry puts on a burst of speed, but is horrified when the Firebolt slows, and he sees Malfoy holding on to the Firebolt's tail. Later, Harry spots Malfoy heading towards the Snitch. Flattening himself to his broom, Harry urges the Firebolt towards them, slowly catching Malfoy up. He knocks Malfoy's arm out of the way, and catches the Snitch. Harry soars above the crowd, and is soon joined by the rest of the team, and they sink to the ground in a many-armed hug. Ecstatic, they are carried to the stands by the Gryffindor supporters, where Dumbledore is waiting with the Quidditch Cup. Harry is passed the Cup by Wood, and as he lifts it into the air, he feels like he could produce the world's best Patronus.

Harry is euphoric about winning the Quidditch Cup for at least a week. As summer approaches, Harry starts to prepare for his exams. Harry and Ron can't resist commenting when they see Hermione's exam timetable; Harry wonders how she is going to sit two exams at once. He is worried when he receives Hagrid's note about Buckbeak's appeal, as it sounds like the Committee have already decided the verdict. As exam week begins an unnatural hush falls over the castle. Harry takes his exams to varying degrees of success. During the Charms exam, Harry slightly overdoes his Cheering Charm out of nerves. The Care of Magical Creatures exam is the easiest exam any of them has ever sat. It gives Harry, Ron and Hermione a chance to talk to Hagrid about Buckbeak and the appeal. Harry's Potions exam is a disaster, and he relies on the information he got from Florean Fortescue in his History of Magic exam. He is grinning as he finishes the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam, a sort of obstacle course, and is told by Professor Lupin that he has earned full marks. He watches Ron and Hermione complete the obstacle course; once Hermione has recovered from her encounter with the Boggart, the trio make their way back to the castle. As they near it, they see Cornelius Fudge standing at the top of the steps.

Harry and Ron make their way to the Divination classroom for their last exam. When Ron is called, Harry is the last student left. When his exam begins, Harry stares into the crystal ball, but sees nothing. When prompted to describe what he sees by Professor Trelawney, Harry decides to pretend, and tells her that he can see a Hippogriff in the Orb. He refuses to pretend that the Hippogriff is headless or dead, and tells Trelawney that he sees it flying away. Harry gets up to leave at the end of the exam, but wheels back around when he hears Trelawney talking in a harsh voice, unlike her own. He stands there, panicking, but listens to Trelawney speak until she snaps out of her trance confused and unable to remember her own words. Harry leaves the classroom wondering whether he has just heard Trelawney make a real prediction.

Harry dashes back to the common room to tell Hermione and Ron about Professor Trelawney's prediction. He stops when he sees their faces, and is upset when he finds out that Hagrid lost the appeal and Buckbeak will be executed. Harry wants to go and see Hagrid, but remembers that he doesn't have his Invisibility Cloak as he had to leave it in the passageway under the one-eyed witch. He tells Hermione where the Cloak is, and is surprised when she promptly leaves to fetch it.

The three of them make their way to Hagrid's home under the protection of the Invisibility Cloak. Harry asks Hagrid whether Dumbledore can help Buckbeak, but is told that Dumbledore has already tried. The trio are forced to leave the hut when Hagrid spots the execution committee making their way towards the hut. They are reluctant to leave but make their way up the lawn to the castle. As they walk, Harry tries not to listen to the rumble of voices behind them. As they stop to try to calm down Scabbers, Harry hears a silence, and then the unmistakeable sound of the axe falling.

Harry is shocked after hearing the sound of the axe, and stands transfixed under his Invisibilty Cloak. He is worried about Hagrid and wants to go back to see him, but is persuaded not to by Ron. The trio start to make their way back to the school, but stop once more when Scabber's starts to act strangely. Harry spots Crookshanks walking towards them in the dark. He watches as Scabbers escapes from Ron and scampers away across the lawn, chased by Crookshanks. When Ron runs after Scabbers, Harry and Hermione follow him.

Harry and Hermione almost fall over Ron as he lies sprawled on the ground, having caught Scabbers. They attempt to cover themselves back up when they see an enormous, jet-black dog bounding towards them. Harry reaches for his wand but is thrown backwards when the dog collides with him. Harry attempts to defend himself and Ron against the dog, but is unable to stop the dog from dragging Ron away. Harry is knocked off his feet once more as he is hit by something in the dark. Finding his wand, Harry whispers Lumos, and realises that they are standing at the foot of the Whomping Willow. He watches as Ron is dragged into a gap at the roots of the tree. He rejects Hermione's plea to go for help, as he doesn't think they have enough time. Harry tries desperately to find a way to the tree roots, but is prevented by the vicious branches of the tree. When Crookshanks manages to immobilise the tree, Harry tells Hermione that he has seen her cat and the dog together before. He and Hermione make their way towards the hole in the tree roots and enter the tunnel.

As Harry and Hermione follow Crookshanks through the tunnel, Harry tells Hermione that part of the tunnel is marked on the Marauder's Map. He thinks that it leads to Hogsmeade, but doesn't think anyone has managed to get into it before. As they walk, Harry worries about Ron, and what the dog has done with him.

As the tunnel ends, Harry, Hermione and Crookshanks find themselves at a small opening, which leads into a dusty room. When they realise they are in the Shrieking Shack, Harry stares around the room, taking in the smashed furniture and disarray, and knows that ghosts couldn't have done that kind of damage. He and Hermione quietly leave the room and creep up the stairs of the building. When they reach the top of the stairs, Harry and Hermione enter the only open door they can see. They hurry over to Ron when they spot him lying on the floor.

Harry wheels around when Ron looks over his shoulder, and sees the man standing in the shadows. Harry recognises the man as Sirius Black but before he can do anything, he and Hermione are disarmed. Harry is filled with hate as Black talks to him, hearing his words as taunts about his parents. Rage takes over Harry; he starts towards Black, but is held back by Ron and Hermione. Harry manages to wrench himself free of their grasp, and lunges, forgetting everything but his determination to hurt the man who killed his parents. Harry catches Black by surprise, and they fall backwards, into the wall. Harry punches Black repeatedly, angrily hitting every part of him he can reach. When his wand drops to the floor, Harry throws himself towards it. He is clawed in the arm by Crookshanks, but manages to snatch up the wand. Harry stands over Black, wand pointed at his chest, and considers what to do. As he raises his wand, ready to avenge his parents, he hears muffled footsteps echoing through the Shack.

Harry turns around when Lupin enters the room. Harry stands, silent, after Lupin disarms him, disappointed in himself for not avenging his parents death while he had the chance. He is confused by Lupin's conversation with Black, and more so when he sees Lupin embrace Black. He is furious that Lupin appears to have been helping Black, and feels betrayed by the teacher. Harry is stunned when Lupin returns his wand to him, and listens in disbelief as Lupin tells the trio that, using the Marauder's Map, he saw Black taking two people into the Whomping Willow.

Harry doesn't believe Black and Lupin's claim that Scabbers is an Animagus, and thinks the two men are out of their minds. He is certain Black is merely unhinged after his years in Azkaban, but is confused about why Lupin is playing along. Harry listens intently as Lupin tells them of his years at Hogwarts. He is astounded when Lupin mentions that his father, James Potter, was an Animagus. He wants to know what kind of animal his father could turn into, but is interrupted before he can ask Lupin.

Harry jumps in shock when Severus Snape appears from under the Invisibility Cloak. As the events unfold he doesn't know what to do, or who to believe. When Snape prepares to leave the Shack with Lupin and Black, Harry crosses the room and blocks the door. He refuses to let Snape take Lupin and Black to the Dementors, and tries to reason with him, claiming that Lupin had ample opportunity to harm him over the school year. Harry loses his temper when Snape refuses to listen, certain that Snape is being stubborn because they made a fool of him when they were at school. When Snape shouts at him to get out of the way, Harry makes a split-second decision, and raises his wand. As he shouts the spell to disarm Snape, he hears other voices shouting with him. Harry looks around after Snape is knocked unconscious and realises that Ron and Hermione tried to disarm the teacher at the same time as him.

Harry isn't sure whether preventing Snape from leaving was the right thing to do. He listens as Lupin and Black tell their story, struggling to take it all in. He is still angry with Black, as he knows that his godfather was intended to be the Potters' Secret Keeper. He is astounded when Black tells him that there was a last-minute change, and that Pettigrew was made the Secret Keeper instead of him. Harry watches as Sirius and Lupin cast a spell on Scabbers that forces him to show himself as Peter Pettigrew.

As Black explains what happened twelve years before, Harry recalls various things he had heard over the year that seem to corroborate his version of events. Harry refuses to let Lupin and Sirius kill Pettigrew, and runs forward to shield Peter from their wands. He tells them that they should take Pettigrew up to the castle instead, where the Dementors can take him to Azkaban. He rejects Pettigrew's gratitude, and tells him that he is only doing it because his father wouldn't want his best friends to become murderers. Harry steps out of the way once he is certain they won't hurt Pettigrew, but agrees that if Pettigrew attempts to escape again they can kill him.

Harry and Hermione bring up the rear of the group as they make their way back through the Shrieking Shack, and into the tunnel. Harry follows Sirius as they make their way in single file through the passage towards the Whomping Willow. In the tunnel, Sirius tells Harry that as his godfather he was appointed guardian over him if anything were to happen to his parents. He asks Harry if he would like to move in with him, once his name is cleared. Harry is ecstatic at the thought and happily agrees. After Harry and Hermione climb out of the tunnel, the group start towards the castle.

Harry walks in a daze, his mind buzzing as he thinks about leaving the Dursleys for good, and living with his godfather. As the moon comes out from behind the clouds, Harry is stopped suddenly by Sirius. He watches in horror as Lupin starts to transform into a werewolf. Harry ignores Sirius's command to run, but is prevented from getting to Ron as Lupin transforms.

Harry stands transfixed as he watches a transformed Sirius drag Lupin away from Ron and Pettigrew; his focus is only broken by Hermione's scream. Harry sees Pettigrew dive towards Lupin's wand, then attack Ron and Crookshanks. He disarms Pettigrew, but is too late to prevent him from transforming into a rat and escaping. Harry hears a howl, and turns to see the werewolf fleeing into the Forest. After he tells Sirius that Pettigrew has escaped, Harry rushes over to help Ron.

As no-one is around to help, Harry sprints towards the sound of Sirius when he hears him whimpering. The sound takes him in the direction of the lake where he starts to feel cold, but doesn't realise the implication of this until he is at the lake shore. Harry sees Sirius, back in his human form, crouched on all fours, hands on his head, and watches as at least a hundred Dementors glide around the lake towards him. Harry desperately tells Hermione to think of something happy in a bid to produce a Patronus; he focuses furiously on the thought of leaving the Dursleys as he tries to perform the Patronus Charm. He manages to produce a wisp of silver, but when both Sirius and Hermione succumb to the effects of the Dementors and collapse, Harry falls to his knees as fog clouds his eyes. Trying to hold on to his happy thoughts, Harry gasps the spell once more. He sees a Dementor halt very close to him, and watches as it makes to sweep his formless Patronus aside. It raises its rotting hands and lowers its hood. A paralysing terror fills Harry as he looks at the Dementor; he is unable to move or speak, and his Patronus flickers and dies.

As he tries to fight against the effects of the Dementors, Harry feels a pair of strong, clammy hands wrapping themselves around his neck. Harry feels as though the fog is drowning him; but through it he suddenly sees a silvery light, growing brighter and brighter, and feels himself fall forwards onto the grass. As the air becomes warmer, Harry uses every ounce of strength to raise his head, and sees an animal, as bright as a unicorn, galloping away across the lake. Just before he loses consciousness, Harry sees someone across the lake welcome the creature back, patting it, someone who looks strangely familiar to him...

Harry wakes in the hospital wing and hears Fudge and Snape talking nearby. Harry eventually opens his eyes, and sees Hermione lying in the bed next to him. Harry is adamant that he needs to see Dumbledore, and is horrified when Madam Pomfrey tells him that Sirius is due to receive the Dementors' Kiss at any moment. When Fudge enters the ward with Snape, Harry desperately tries to tell him that Sirius is innocent. He is frustrated when Fudge won't listen to him, and grows angry when Snape implies that he and Hermione are merely confused from being Confunded.

Harry and Hermione try to tell Dumbledore their story immediately after Fudge and Snape have left. They are stopped by Dumbledore, and are relieved when they realise that he already believes their story, but Harry is hugely disappointed when Dumbledore insists that it is too late for them to help Sirius.

Harry doesn't have any idea what Dumbledore is talking about when he says that they need more time and starts to give them instructions. He is confused when Dumbledore wishes them luck, and asks Hermione what they are supposed to do. Harry spots a tiny hour-glass hanging from the chain Hermione that produces, but doesn't understand what she is doing when she throws the chain around them both. When Hermione turns the hour-glass, Harry has the sensation that he is flying backwards; as a blur of colours and shapes rush past him, he tries to yell, but can't hear his own voice. When everything comes back into focus, Harry looks wildly around him, confused about where they are.

Harry is dragged across the Entrance Hall by Hermione, and is pulled into a broom cupboard. Harry wants to know what is going on, and is incredulous when Hermione tells him that they have travelled three hours back in time. He wants to know how they were able to travel back in time, and listens as Hermione explains how she came to have the Time-Turner.

Harry realises that he and Hermione have the chance to save Buckbeak as well as Sirius, and the pair hurry out of the cupboard and out of the school. Harry and Hermione race away from the school towards the Forest, making their way to Hagrid's under the cover of the trees. As they watch Hagrid open the door and let their past selves into his house, Harry is convinced that this is the strangest thing he has ever done. He and Hermione move closer to Buckbeak when the coast is clear, and Harry is keen to set the Hippogriff free immediately. He is dissuaded by Hermione, reminded that the Committee need to see Buckbeak when they arrive, or they will assume that Hagrid let him escape. Harry starts to lose confidence in their plan when he realises that they will have about sixty seconds to free the Hippogriff. When they hear the milk jug breaking in Hagrid's hut, and Hermione's shriek when she finds Scabbers, Harry is struck by the idea of running into the hut and grabbing Scabbers right then and there. Harry is not concerned by the idea of being seen by Hagrid and their past selves until Hermione asks him to imagine what he would do if saw himself bursting into Hagrid's house, and realises the dangers of showing himself.

Moments later, Harry sees the Committee making their way down the steps of the castle, and watches himself, Hermione and Ron leaving through Hagrid's back door. As their past selves cover themselves with the Invisibility Cloak and leave, Harry and Hermione watch as the Committee arrive at Hagrid's. They listen to the Committee inside the hut, and see Macnair look out of the window at Buckbeak. As Macnair turns away from the window, Harry darts out from behind his tree, vaults the fence into the pumpkin patch and approaches Buckbeak. Bowing, Harry waits for Buckbeak to return the gesture, and then unties the Hippogriff from the fence. He tugs at the rope, trying to get Buckbeak to move, and manages to lead the hippogriff into the Forest in the nick of time. He and Hermione stand as still as they can, listening as the Committee discover that Buckbeak is missing. Harry tightens his hold on Buckbeak when he tries to get back to Hagrid and, between them, he and Hermione manage to stay hidden until the committee re-enter Hagrid's hut.

Harry tells Hermione that they have to move to be able to see the Whomping Willow, so they can know what is going on. He leads Buckbeak around the edge of the Forest with Hermione's help, coming to a halt behind a clump of trees, through which they can see the Whomping Willow. They watch as they see the events by the tree occur, and see Lupin sprinting towards the Whomping Willow minutes after they have disappeared into the tunnel. Harry is frustrated that Lupin passed so close to the Invisibility Cloak and didn't pick it up. He is certain that if Lupin had seen the Cloak, things would have happened differently. He doesn't understand how Hermione can just stand there and watch when they could change things so easily, and tells her he is going to grab the Cloak. He is prevented by Hermione, just in time to see Hagrid pass their hiding place on his way to the castle. He and Hermione sieze Buckbeak's rope as hard as they can to prevent the Hippogriff trying to get to Hagrid once more. Harry grows angry when they see Snape rush towards the tree a few mintues later and pick up the Invisibility Cloak a, but can do nothing about it for fear of being seen.

Harry sits with Hermione after they watch Snape enter the tunnel at the Whomping Willow. When Hermione asks him about the Dementors, Harry explains what he saw by the lake shore before he passed out. He tells Hermione that only a real, very powerful Patronus could have driven the Dementors away. Although he knows how strange it sounds, Harry tells Hermione that he thinks it was his dad who conjured the Patronus. He wonders to himself about what he saw, and whether he had imagined it.

Harry and Hermione wait for over an hour, but eventually see themselves climbing out of the Whomping Willow. Once again, Harry is frustrated that they have to merely watch things happen, instead of doing something to prevent Pettigrew's escape. As they watch Lupin's transformation, Harry realises that they have to move, as Lupin will run straight towards them when he flees into the Forest. He and Hermione run as fast as they can with Buckbeak, towards Hagrid's now-empty hut. Harry throws himself through the door after the others and bolts it behind them. He finds it much more difficult to see what is happening through Hagrid's window, and tells Hermione that he is going to go outside again, promising not to interfere with anything.

For a fraction of a second, Harry hesitates outside Hagrid's front door, staring out towards the lake. He begins to run towards the lake, desperate to know whether the Patronus he has seen was really conjured by his father. As he gets closer and closer to the lake, he can see tiny glimmers of silver, his own feeble attempts at a Patronus. He throws himself behind a bush by the lake, peering desperately through the leaves, a tremor of excitement shooting through him as he realises he will see the caster of the Patronus any moment now. As the seconds pass, Harry becomes anxious that the Patronus hasn't appeared yet. All of a sudden, Harry realises that the person he had seen wasn't his father, but himself. He flings himself from behind the bush, pulls out his wand and yells the incantation. Harry watches as a blinding, dazzling silver Patronus bursts from his wand and gallops across the lake. He screws up his eyes, trying to see what animal it is. Harry watches as the Patronus charges at the swarming Dementors, driving them away from his past self, Hermione and Sirius on the lake shore. As the Patronus returns to him, Harry sees that his Patronus takes the form of a stag, and realises that his father, Prongs, must have taken that form as an Animagus.

Harry and Hermione wait behind the bush, watching as Snape starts to transport the unconscious bodies of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sirus up to the castle. As they wait, Harry tries to guess whether Sirius has been taken to Flitwick's office yet. Finally, he and Hermione see Macnair leaving the castle, and realise that he must be going to get the Dementors. Harry helps Hermione climb onto Buckbeak's back, then clambers up in front of her. Tying Buckbeak's rope to his collar like reins, Harry nudges the Hippogriff, gripping tightly with his knees as they soar into the air. He urges Buckbeak forwards, desperately trying to count the castle windows as he steers Buckbeak towards Flitwick's office. As they reach the office window, Harry reaches out and taps sharply on the glass. He holds Buckbeak steady as Sirius climbs out of the window on to Buckbeak, then urges the Hippogriff to fly quickly away. Harry and Hermione slide off Buckbeak at once after they land on the battlements of the school. Harry urges Sirius to leave with Buckbeak quickly, as his disappearance will be discovered at any moment. Harry and Hermione watch as Buckbeak and Sirius fly away into the night.

Harry leaves the battlements with Hermione when they realise they only have ten minutes to get back to the hospital wing. As they reach the bottom of the staircase, they hear the voices of Fudge and Snape coming from the corridor, and flatten themselves to the wall as they listen to them talking. Harry and Hermione race in the opposite direction once they have gone, narrowly missing Peeves, who is bouncing gleefully along the corridor. The pair wait until Peeves has passed before hurrying along the corridor towards the hospital wing. Harry worries about what will happen if they don't arrive before Dumbledore locks the door, but arrive at the hospital wing just in time. They excitedly tell Dumbledore that they managed to free Sirius, and slip back in to the ward after Dumbledore checks that the coast is clear. Harry creeps back into his bed and lies quietly, eating the chocolate that Madam Pomfrey has given him. As they wait, nerves jangling, Harry and Hermione hear a loud roar from somewhere above, and hear angry voices coming closer and closer to the hospital wing. Harry is silent as Snape accuses him and Hermione of helping Sirius escape. When Ron wakes, Harry tells Hermione to explain things to him.

Harry leaves the hospital wing the next day, with Ron and Hermione. The trio wander across the grounds, talking about the extraordinary events the night before. As they sit by the edge of the lake, Harry's thoughts go back to his Patronus, and the events by the lake. Harry is shocked when Hagrid tells the trio thatLupin's secret is out, and that the teacher has resigned. Harry leaves Ron and Hermione at the lake, telling them he needs to go see Lupin.

Harry arrives at Lupin's office to find him poring over the Marauder's Map, his bags already packed. Harry is upset that Lupin has resigned, and tries to persuade him to stay. Harry is distracted when Lupin asks him about the Patronus, wondering how he knew, but tells him what had happened by the lake. He is glad when Lupin returns the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map to him, hastily stuffing them in his pocket when he hears a knock on the door. As Lupin says goodbye, Harry gets the impression that he wants to leave as quickly as possible. Harry looks miserable after Lupin leaves, but remains in the office with Dumbledore. He is upset that after all that happened the previous night, Pettigrew still managed to escape, and worried that if Voldemort does return, it will be all his own fault. Harry tells Dumbledore about the prediction that Professor Trelawney made at the end of his exam, and is amazed at how calm Dumbledore is about the news. Harry tells Dumbledore about his Patronus, and his fleeting theory about it being his dad who conjured it, and is surprised when he realises that Dumbledore now knows about the three unregistered Animagi. He stays in the office after Dumbledore leaves, left to his own, confusing thoughts.

As the end of term approaches, Harry hears many different theories about what happened the night Sirius escaped, none of which come close to the truth. Although he is thrilled to have helped Sirius to freedom, Harry approaches the end of the school year in bad spirits. Lupin's resignation weighs heavily on his mind and he spends a lot of time thinking about Trelawney's prediction, and about where Pettigrew has escaped to. More than anything else he is depressed about the prospect of returning to the Dursley household for the summer, having thought for a brief moment that he would be living with Sirius. He feels miserable when he thinks of the home he might have had, and of how impossible that home is now.

Harry passes all of his school exams, and is amazed that he managed to pass Potions. He suspects that Dumbledore stepped in to prevent Snape from failing him on purpose. He manages to forget about returning to the Dursleys for one evening as he celebrates Gryffindor's House Cup win at the end-of-term feast.

Harry and Ron are suprised when, on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione announces she is giving up Muggle Studies. Harry looks upset as he watches Hogwarts disappear from the train window, thinking about the approaching holidays, but is cheered slightly when Ron mentions the Quidditch World Cup. After several games of Exploding Snap, Harry sees a tiny owl bobbing outside the compartment window, carrying a letter. He opens the window and catches the owl, bringing it inside. Harry is excited when he realises the letter is for him, from Sirius, and reads it aloud. He is thrilled when he discovers the Hogsmeade permission note Sirius enclosed, and thinks that it will be enough to satisfy Dumbledore. He reads and re-reads the letter all the way back to King's Cross station, and clutches it in his hand as he disembarks from the train. Harry is greeted by the Weasleys, before walking across to Uncle Vernon. Vernon questions Harry about the letter he is clutching and Harry cheerfully tells Vernon about Sirius, emphasising that he is a convicted murdered on the run who will be keeping in touch with him over the holidays. He grins broadly at the look of horror on his uncle's face as they set off towards the station exit, the holidays suddenly looking much better than the last.

Harry wakes with a start at the very moment Frank Bryce is killed, his lightening shape scar burning, having just dreamt of a scene featuring three men; Peter Pettigrew, a small timid man; the cold, high voice of Lord Voldemort, and an old man whom Harry doesn't know. Remembering that the last time his scar hurt was when Voldemort was close by, Harry is concerned about what this could mean. Eventually he decides to write to Sirius to tell him that his scar has been hurting, but he decides not to mention his dream. He writes his letter and waits for Hedwig to return.

As soon as Harry realised he was going to be forced to participate in Dudley's diet over the summer holidays, he sent Hedwig to his friends for help. He hides his secret stash of food under a loose floorboard in his bedroom.

When Vernon tells a Harry that a letter has arrived about him, Harry is confused at first about who would be sending a letter to the Dursleys about him. He struggles not to laugh when he sees the envelope from Mrs Weasley, as it is almost entirely covered in stamps. He tries his best not to anger Vernon further, as he wants to go to the Quidditch World Cup, but becomes annoyed when Vernon starts to insult the magical world. He finally tells Vernon that he understands he won't be allowed to go to the World Cup, and asks to leave, mentioning that he has a letter to Sirius to finish. He correctly guesses that, as Vernon is scared of Sirius, mentioning his godfather will make his uncle rethink giving his permission.

Harry enters his bedroom, thrilled at being allowed to go to the Quidditch World Cup. As he enters the room, he is hit in the head by a tiny grey owl, 'Pig', who is delivering a letter from Ron. He quickly writes a reply to the letter, telling Ron that he is able to come to the Quidditch match, and sends the owl off with the note. Harry finishes his letter to Sirius, adding that he will be at The Burrow for the remainder of the summer holidays, and sends Hedwig to deliver it. He watches her fly out of sight, then crawls under his bed, wrenches up the loose floorboard, and pulls out a huge chunk of his birthday cake. He sits on the floor eating the cake, excited and happy about his plans for the rest of the summer.

By twelve o'clock on Sunday, Harry is packed and ready to leave Privet Drive. He has emptied his room of all his possessions, including the contents of the floorboard under his bed. The atmosphere is very tense at Number 4, Privet Drive, and Harry feels slightly apprehensive about the Weasleys' impending arrival. He is worried that Petunia and Vernon will be rude to the family if they arrive dressed in wizarding clothing, and wonders how they will be arriving now that their old Ford Anglia is running wild in the Forbidden Forest.

Harry feels anxious when the Weasleys' haven't arrived by quarter past five. He jumps up when he hears a commotion coming from behind the boarded-up fireplace in the living room, and fights his laughter when he realises that the Weasleys have tried to travel to the house by Floo powder. He retreats to the sofa when Arthur Weasley tells him to move back, and watches as the electric fire shoots across the room, expelling Ron, Arthur, Fred and George from behind it.

Harry helps George carry his trunk towards the fireplace after Arthur conjures a fire amongst the rubble. He says goodbye to the Dursleys, and assures Arthur that it doesn't matter when they give no reply. Harry starts to step into the flames, ready to travel back to The Burrow, when he hears a horrible gagging sound coming from behind him. He wheels around to see Dudley kneeling by the coffee table, his tongue swollen and almost a foot long, and notices the brightly coloured toffee wrapper on the floor by his cousin. He doesn't want to leave, enjoying the spectacle too much, but goes to The Burrow after Arthur tells him to go.

Harry travels to The Burrow via Floo Powder from the Dursleys house, making sure to keep his elbows tucked in tightly. He brings himself to a halt just in time to prevent himself from falling out of the kitchen fire at The Burrow. Harry is greeted excitedly by Fred and George, and tells them that Dudley ate the sweet they dropped in the living room at Privet Drive, curious to know what it was. He meets Bill and Charlie, Ron's eldest brothers, for the first time in the kitchen. Harry thinks Fred and George's prank on Dudley is hilarious, and is quick to assure Mr Weasley that Dudley did deserve it. He, Ron, Ginny and Hermione escape the kitchen when Mrs Weasley enters the conversation, making their way up the stairs to Ron's bedroom at the top of the house. As they climb, Harry asks the others what Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes are, having heard Mrs Weasley mention them earlier.

In Ron's bedroom, Harry and the others talk about their summers, and Harry tells them that their food parcels saved him during the forced diet at Number Four, Privet Drive. When Hermione notices that the arguing has ceased in the kitchen, the four children make their way back downstairs to find Mrs Weasley alone in the kitchen. They watch as she starts begins to prepare dinner, bad-tempered because of the twins; Harry and Ron jump out of the way as several knives soar out of the kitchen drawers across the kitchen and start to chop some potatoes vigorously. They hurriedly head out of the back door into the yard, walking towards the garden. As they arrive in the garden, Harry sees Bill and Charlie enchanting the two dining tables, making them fly high above the lawn and smash into each other, attempting to knock the other out of the air.

At dinner, Harry eagerly asks after the outcome from the previous rounds of the Quidditch World Cup, and regrets more than ever that he is so isolated from the wizarding world during the holidays. He feels extremely well fed by the time dinner ends, and happily watches as several gnomes sprint through the rose bushes, closely followed by Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. When Ron quietly asks him about Sirius, Harry tells him and Hermione that he wrote to Sirius the day before yesterday. He hopes that Sirius will reply whilst he is at The Burrow. He suddenly remembers the reason that he wrote to Sirius, and is on the verge of telling Ron and Hermione about his scar hurting, but decides not to worry them after having such a happy and peaceful evening.

Harry feels as though he has barely had any sleep when he is woken by Mrs Weasley on the morning of the Quidditch World Cup. He, Ron and the twins dress in silence, too sleepy to talk, before heading down to the kitchen. As they leave The Burrow, Harry is curious about how the thousands of wizards visiting the Quidditch World Cup will get there without all the Muggles noticing, and listens as Arthur explains how the Ministry have organised everything.

Harry is uncomfortable when Amos Diggory greets him enthusiastically, and is silent when Amos boasts about Cedric's Quidditch victory against him the previous year, unable to think of a suitable reply. As the departure time nears, Harry places his finger on the old boot held by Amos. When the Portkey leaves, Harry feels as though a hook just behind his navel has been suddenly jerked forwards. His feet leave the ground, and he can feel Ron and Hermione's shoulders banging into him on both sides. His finger is stuck to the boot as though it is pulling him magnetically. When the Portkey lands, Harry's feet slam into the ground; Ron stumbles into him and he falls to the ground, the Portkey landing near his head.

Harry disentangles himself from Ron and gets to his feet. He looks around the Portkey station, taking in the two wizards dressed in strange combinations of Muggle clothes, and the pile of used Portkeys. The group set off across the deserted moor towards their campsite, unable to make out much through the mist. After about twenty minutes, the group spy a small stone cottage next to a gate. Beyond the cottage, Harry can just make out the shapes of hundreds and hundreds of tents, covering the large field. Harry immediately realises that the campsite manager, Mr Roberts, is the only real Muggle in the whole area.

Harry helps Mr Weasley work out Muggle money, uncomfortably aware that Mr Roberts is listening to their conversation. After Mr Roberts' memory is modified, Harry and the Weasleys walk through the misty campsite, towards their reserved camping space. Although Harry has never been camping before, he and Hermione manage to work out how to erect the two tents. They are both somewhat confused at the size of the pair of two-man tents, as they look far too small to house a party of ten. Harry's jaw drops as, entering the tent after Arthur, he walks into what looks like an old-fashioned, three-roomed flat.

Harry, Ron and Hermione walk to the other side of the field to fetch water from the campsite tap. They make their way through the tents, staring eagerly around. As they walk past several children playing outside their tents, Harry realises he has never seen witches and wizards that young before; it starts to dawn on him just how many people there must be in the magical world. The trio bump into several of their friends as they walk through the campsite, before joining the queue for the water tap. They walk back towards their tents with the water; when Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw student, smiles and waves at Harry, he waves back, slopping quite a bit of his water down his front as he does so. When Ron tells Harry and Hermione about Bill's pen-friend, Harry laughs, silently amazed that he hadn't realised that Hogwarts isn't the only wizarding school in the world.

Harry buys himself, Ron and Hermione each a pair of Omnioculars before the match, telling them both that they won't be getting anything for Christmas for about ten years now.

Harry follows Arthur Weasley through the woods, following the lantern-lit trail. He can see glimpses of the immense gold walls surrounding the pitch through the trees, and is awestruck by the size of the stadium. The group follow Arthur through the entrance and up the staircase, higher and higher until they finally reach the Top Box. Harry files into the front row of seats with the Weasleys, and looks down upon the stadium, taking in everything.

Harry is astonished when he thinks he recognises Dobby sitting in one of the seats in the Top Box, but quickly realises that it is not him but another house-elf. The house-elf introduces herself as Winky and tells Harry that she knows Dobby. Harry is eager to hear how the elf is and is surprised to hear that Dobby hasn't been able to get another position as a house-elf; he doesn't think it is a bad thing that Dobby wants to be paid for his work from now on.

Harry watches the team mascots perform on the pitch. As the Veela perform, his mind goes completely and blissfully blank. All that matters to him is that he keeps watching the Veela; he feels that if he stops, terrible things will happen. As the Veela dance faster, wild thought chase across Harry's mind, and he feels the urge to do something very impressive, like jumping from the Top Box. When the music ends, Harry blinks, confused as to why he is standing up with one of his legs resting on the wall of the box. When the Irish Team Mascots, leprechauns, throw gold into the crowd, Harry is presented a fistful of the coins by Ron, as payment for the Omnioculars.

The Quidditch played is like nothing Harry has ever seen before; the speed of the players is incredible, and he presses his Omnioculars so hard to his eyes that his glasses cut into the bridge of his nose. Harry watches many of the Quidditch moves again, through the slow replay function of the Omnioculars, which causes him to become confused when the live commentary differs to what he is seeing. He is furious with himself for missing some of the match, and spins the speed dial back to normal. Harry is mesmerised when Krum performs the Wronski Feint, and is in awe of the skill of the Bulgarian player. Harry applauds loudly at the end of the match, impressed that Krum caught the Snitch - he understands Krum's motivation for catching the Snitch, even though it allowed an Irish victory. Harry watches the Irish celebrations through his Omnioculars, and sees the Irish team lap of honour around the stadium. His eyes are suddenly dazzled by a blinding white light as the Top Box is magically illuminated so that everyone in the stands can see the inside, and sees the Quidditch World Cup enter the box. He watches the procession of Bulgarian players as they go to shake hands with the Ministers for Magic, and sees the Irish team being presented with the Quidditch World Cup.

Harry joins the celebrations in the tents after the Quidditch World Cup. After the group go to bed, Harry lies on his bunk, staring at the canvas ceiling and daydreaming about Krum's spectacular Quidditch moves, and about being a famous Quidditch player. Very suddenly, Harry is aware of Mr Weasley shouting in the tent. He grabs his coat as Arthur instructs, and hurries outside with Ron at his heels. Harry can see people running into the woods, fleeing something in the field. As a burst of green light illuminates the area, Harry sees a crowd of wizards moving together, marching across the field.

Harry, Ron, George and Hermione follow Fred and Ginny as they hurry towards the shelter of the woods. He, Hermione and Ron are distracted by Draco Malfoy, whom they pass on their way, and lose sight of the twins and Ginny. As they continue along the path in the dark, keeping an eye out for people they know, Harry digs in the pockets of his jacket, searching for his wand, and realises he has lost it. Harry feels vulnerable as they walk deeper into the woods, having never been without his wand in the wizarding world before. The trio find themselves in a clearing in the woods, and sit at the foot of a tree, waiting for things to calm down. Harry hears someone staggering towards the clearing, but cannot see anyone. He gets to his feet and peers around the tree, but it is too dark, and he can only make out the shape of someone standing in the distance. He stands silent as the figure utters an incantation, Morsmordre, and watches as something vast, green and glittering erupts from the darkness, flying up through the trees to hover in the sky.

Harry is confused when the woods erupt with screams, and doesn't understand why the green, glittering skull that has appeared in the sky has caused so much panic. He is tugged backwards by Hermione, and is horrified when she tells him that the Dark Mark is the sign of Voldemort. Before they have taken a couple of steps, the three are surrounded by about twenty wizards, who attempt to Stun them.

When Amos Diggory shows the assembled wizards the wand found in Winky's hand, Harry recognises it as his own. He tries to tell Amos that the voice they heard casting the spell to conjure the Dark Mark sounded nothing like an elf, but Amos is unimpressed.

Harry leaves the clearing with Arthur, Ron and Hermione as soon as they are able. They arrive back at the tent to find the rest of their group safely back, and quickly explain their story. Harry gets back into his bed with his head buzzing. He feels wide-awake, and is worried about what the riot at the campsite means. It is a long time before he finally dozes off, thinking about the events of the past three days.

Harry travels back to The Burrow the morning after the Quidditch World Cup, where the group are greeted by a frantically worried Molly. In the kitchen, after everything has settled down, Harry asks Molly whether Hedwig has arrived with a letter for him. He gives Ron and Hermione a meaningful look, and the three of them leave the kitchen and make their way to Ron's bedroom, where they can talk in private. Harry tells Ron and Hermione about waking up with his scar hurting the previous Saturday. He tells them that he was dreaming about Voldemort and Wormtail, but refrains from mentioning that they were talking about killing him, keeping the victim of their plotting vague. He thinks it is strange that only three days after his scar started to hurt, the Death Eaters reappeared, and Voldemort's sign was up in the sky once again. He mentions Professor Trelawney's prediction at the end of the previous term at Hogwarts; he is more worried than Hermione about this, and tells them that Trelawney's prediction was different to her other ones, and seemed real. He is worried about the Dark Lord rising 'greater and more terrrible than ever before' with the help of one of his followers, and thinks it is no coincidence that Wormtail escaped that same night. Harry is worried that Sirius hasn't replied to his letter yet, and isn't comforted by Hermione's suggestion that Sirius is living too far away for Hedwig to have been able to return yet. Harry is pleased with Ron's suggestion of a game of Quidditch with Bill, Charlie and the twins, keen to distract himself from everything, and goes to fetch his Firebolt.

On the Sunday before they are due to return to Hogwarts, Harry sits in the living room with Hermione and the Weasleys, polishing his Firebolt using the Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had given him for his thirteenth birthday. He and Ron go to Ron's bedroom to finish packing their trunks for school. After feeding Pigwidgeon Owl Treats through the bars of his cage, Harry turns towards his trunk, very aware of Hedwig's empty perch. He worries that it has been over a week since he sent his letter to Sirius, and is afraid that Sirius might have been caught. Harry is nervous when, after seeing Ron's dress robes, Mrs Weasley tells him that she has bought him some as well, and is relieved when he opens the parcel to find a new, bottle green set of robes. He is embarrased when Molly mentions that she had to buy Ron's robes second-hand, and looks away; he would willingly split all the money in his Gringotts vault with the Weasleys, but knows they would never accept it.

Harry travels with the Weasley family to Kings Cross Station in Muggle taxis. The journey is uncomfortable, as they are all crammed in the back of the taxis with their trunks. He and Hermione are intrigued when Molly tells them she won't be inviting them for Christmas this year, as she thinks they will want to stay at Hogwarts. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry and Ron listen to Hermione as she tells them about two other wizarding schools that she knows of, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Harry spends much of the journey reminiscing about the Quidditch World Cup match with his friends. He greets Hagrid happily at Hogsmeade station, and makes his way to the Hogwarts carriages with Ron, Hermione and Neville.

Harry dashes up the entrance stairs to the castle with Hermione, Ron and Neville, eager to get out of the rain. He is stumbled into by Ron after Peeves throws a water bomb at him, and narrowly avoids the second balloon. He, Ron and Hermione slip and slide across the Entrance Hall as they walk to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. Harry is greeted by Colin Creevey at the Gryffindor table, and attempts to sound enthusiastic when Colin tells him his brother Dennis is being sorted this year. Harry is interested to find out that brothers and sisters aren't always sorted into the same house, he had assumed they were because of the Weasley family all belonging to Gryffindor. Harry scans the staff table before the Sorting Ceremony begins, noticing that the table looks more empty than ususal. Harry hasn't attended a Sorting Ceremony since his first year, and is surprised to discover that the Sorting Hat sings a different song each year.

Harry is horrified to hear that the annual inter-house Quidditch Cup won't be taking place that year. He is intrigued when Dumbledore introduces Alastor Moody as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and asks Ron whether this Moody is same person Arthur Weasley went to help that morning. Harry listens as Professor Dumbledore announces that the Triwizard Tournament is to be held at Hogwarts that year, and is interested to hear the history behind the Tournament. He, Hermione, Ron, Neville and the twins make their way back to Gryffindor Tower after the feast; he and Ron help Neville when he gets stuck in the trick step on the staircase on the way up to the Tower. In the dormitory, as he lies in his bed, a series of dazzling pictures form in Harry's mind: of hoodwinking the impartial judge about his age, becoming Hogwarts champion and standing in front of the whole school after his victory, with Cho Chang looking at him in admiration amongst the crowd.

Harry, Ron and Hermione examine their new school timetables at the breakfast table on the first day of term. Harry is disappointed when he sees that he and Ron have double Divination in the afternoon, his least favourite lesson. Harry tries to ignore the sinking feeling he gets when Hedwig doesn't arrive with a letter from Sirius once more; he worries that something has happened to Hedwig and that Sirius hasn't even received his letter. He is preoccupied with these thoughts as he makes his way to greenhouse three, where his Herbology lesson is taking place.

From Herbology, where the students work with Bubotubers, Harry makes his way with Hermione and Ron to their Care of Magical Creatures lesson at Hagrid's cabin. Harry doesn't like the look of the creatures Hagrid has produced for the lesson - Blast-Ended Skrewts. He, Ron and Hermione reluctantly attempt to feed the Skrewts as Hagrid suggests, their affection for him the only thing tempting them to approach the creatures. Harry cant help thinking that the exercise is slightly pointless, as the Skrewts don't appear to have mouths. Harry grins at Hagrid when Hermione states that no-one would want a dragon for a pet, remembering their first year adventures with Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback.

Harry's thoughts drift during his Divination lesson, after Professor Trelawney tells him that the thing he dreads will indeed come to pass. He wonders whether Trelawney was speaking the truth, or whether it was another of her guessed predictions. He starts when Ron mutters his name, and realises that he had almost been dozing off, lost in his thoughts. He and Ron spend the remainder of their lesson attempting to fill in the complicated chart that Professor Trelawney gives them.

As Harry, Ron and Hermione join the queue for dinner in the Entrance Hall, they are hailed by Draco Malfoy, who begins to taunt Ron. Harry tries to distract Ron, but is unsuccessful; he and Hermione grab the back of Ron's robes to prevent him from attacking Draco after he insults Mrs Weasley. Harry reciprocates Draco's taunts, insulting Narcissa Malfoy, before turning away. There is a great bang and something white hot grazes the side of Harry's face, but before he can reach his wand, he hears a second loud noise. Harry spins around to see Professor Moody limping down the staircase, his wand pointing at a white ferret on the floor. Harry watches as Moody controls the ferret, Draco Malfoy, and as Professor McGonagall enters the Entrance Hall. The trio enjoy reminiscing about the event at dinner.

Harry is excited about his first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Moody. He, Ron and Hermione hurry into three chairs right in front of the teacher's desk in the classroom and take out their books, waiting quietly for Moody to arrive.

Harry watches as Moody performs the three Unforgivable Curses on spiders on his desk during the lesson. Harry is filled with foreboding when Moody prepares to perform the Killing Curse on the last spider. He reddens when Moody reminds the class that Harry is the only known person to have survived the Killing Curse. He stares at the blank blackboard as though fascinated by it, but doesn't really see it. He thinks about his parents' deaths, wondering whether the green flash and strange rush of air he has just witnessed was all they experienced when they died. He makes an effort to listen to Moody as he talks after performing the Killing Curse. Harry doesn't find the lesson as entertaining as the rest of the class appears to. He, Ron and Hermione walk over to Neville in the corridor after the lesson, worried about their friend.

Harry sits at the table in the common room with Ron, both doing their Divination homework. The predictions he and Ron make up become steadily more tragic as the evening wears on. As Harry stares around the common room, trying to think of another misfortune he hasn't used yet, he notices Fred and George sitting in the corner of the room acting very secretively. Harry overhears George and Fred talking about the letter they are writing; he smiles when George looks over at him and quickly returns to his homework, not wanting the twins to think he is eavesdropping.

Harry is intrigued when Hermione enters the common room holding a box, and asks her what is inside. He is exasperated when he hears Hermione's plans for her new society, S.P.E.W, but is distracted by the arrival of Hedwig at the window before he can say anything. Harry is relieved to receive Sirius's letter and reads it aloud to Ron and Hermione. He is furious with himself for telling Sirius about his scar when he reads that Sirius is currently flying north; he slams his fist on the table in frustration, angry that Sirius is returning because he thinks Harry is in trouble. Harry goes to bed but is unable to sleep; he lies staring up at the dark canopy of his bed, preoccupied with his thoughts.

Harry awakens early in the morning with a plan fully formed in his mind. He writes Sirius a letter telling his godfather not to come back, as he thinks he only imagined his scar hurting. He walks to the Owlery to give Hedwig the letter; it takes him a while after waking her, but he finally manages to persuade Hedwig to take the note to Sirius. Harry defends his decision to Hermione at breakfast, determined that Sirius will not go back to Azkaban because of him.

Harry is surprised when Professor Moody tells the students during his Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson that he will be putting the Imperius Curse on each of them. Harry watches as his fellow students are forced to do the most extraordinary things under the influence of the Curse, before being beckoned over by Moody. Harry feels a wonderful, floating sensation as he is placed under the curse, and feels as though every thought and worry in his head has been wiped gently away. He stands feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of his surroundings. He hears Moody's voice in the distance, commanding him to jump onto the desk, and bends his knees obediently, preparing to spring. Just before he jumps, however, he has a conflicting thought, a voice in the back of his brain questioning the order. The next thing he feels is considerable pain, as he both jumps and tries to prevent himself from jumping - Harry smashes headlong into the desk, knocking it over and falling to the ground. Harry is forced to repeat the experience four times in a row by Moody, until he is able to throw the curse off entirely.

Harry and Ron are amused when Professor Trelawney awards them full marks for their fabricated Divination homework, but are less happy when she asks them to do the same thing for the next month, as they are running out of ideas for catastrophes.

Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive in the Entrance Hall to find a large crowd of students congregated there, crowded around a large sign. Harry is thrilled when Ron reads the notice aloud, and hears that lessons on Friday 30th October will end half an hour early due to the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arriving, as they have a Potions lesson at that time. No matter where Harry goes over the following week the Triwizard Tournament appears to be the only topic of conversation. Harry receives a letter from Sirius on the day the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students are due to arrive. He reads the letter in a whisper to Ron and Hermione; he doesn't know whether he is more or less worried than before now that he knows Sirius is back in the country. Harry joins the rest of the student body outside the castle, cold as they wait for the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students to arrive. He and his friends discuss how they think the delegations will be arriving, and watch as the Beauxbatons carriage finally appears, flying through the sky and landing in front of the castle

Harry stands with his friends, shivering slightly, after the Beauxbatons students have entered the castle, waiting for the Durmstrang delegates to arrive. For a few minutes all is silent, but soon Harry can hear a loud and oddly eerie noise drifting towards him from out of the darkness; a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner was moving along a river-bed. Harry and the Hogwarts students see a long, black pole rising slowly from the middle of the lake, and a whirlpool appear. Harry is the first to spot the rigging on the mast of the huge ship that rises from the lake.

As the Durmstrang students disembark from the ship, Harry notices that all of them appear to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle, but soon realises that the students are all wearing big, shaggy fur cloaks.

Harry joins Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table for dinner after the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students arrive. Harry feels a thrill of excitement when Dumbledore stands up after the feast and begins his opening speech for the Triwizard Tournament. Harry pictures himself winning the Triwizard Cup once again as Dumbledore speaks, and wonders how angry the Headmaster would be if someone younger than seventeen did find a way of getting past the Age Line. Harry is interested when, after dinner, he sees Professor Karkaroff's reaction to Professor Moody's appearance at the entrance to the Great Hall.

Harry is present for the twins' attempt to get past the Age Line. He watches, fascinated, as Fred prepares to cross the line holding the slip of parchment with his name on it. For a split second after Fred crosses the Age Line Harry thinks their plan has worked; he joins in the laughter of the other students as he sees the twins being propelled into the air seconds later, away from the Goblet of Fire.

Harry, Ron and Hermione walk to Hagrid's cabin to visit their friend. They attempt to persuade Hagrid to tell them about the first task of the Tournament, but are unsuccessful. They end up having lunch with the game-keeper, although they rather lose their appetites after Hermione finds a talon in her 'beef' casserole. Harry, Ron and Hermione make their way back to the castle for the Hallowe'en feast, following Hagrid and Madame Maxime.

Harry watches expectantly as the Goblet of Fire releases the names of the three Triwizard champions. He applauds as Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour are named champion for their schools, and watches the Hufflepuffs jump to their feet in applause as Cedric Diggory is named champion for Hogwarts. After the tumult has died down, the students listen to Dumbledore's closing speech, before turning their gaze to the Goblet of Fire as it releases a fourth piece of parchment; there is silence as Harry's name is read out by Dumbledore as the fourth Triwizard champion.

Harry sits, stunned, at the Gryffindor table after his name is read out by Dumbledore, frozen to his seat with shock. He turns to Ron and Hermione and blankly tells them that he didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire. He gets to his feet, prompted by Hermione, and walks up to the staff table, stumbling slightly as he treads on the hem of his robes. Harry exits the Great Hall through the side-door and finds himself in a smaller room, lined with paintings. He doesn't know what to say to the other three champions, and stands in silence, struggling to find the words to explain what has happened.

Harry answers Professor Dumbledore's questions honestly, and vehemently denies entering his own name into the Goblet of Fire. He listens as the teachers and judges discuss the situation, not saying anything as they argue. Harry and Cedric make their way back through the Great Hall after Mr Crouch explains the First Task. He tells Cedric once again that he didn't enter the Tournament himself, but knows that Cedric doesn't believe him. Harry worries that Ron and Hermione might not believe his story either, and wonders why someone else might have entered his name. Harry enters the Gryffindor common room as quickly as he can, avoiding the Fat Lady's questions as he gives the password. The blast of noise from the common room almost knocks him backwards, and he is wrenched inside by a dozen pairs of hands. Harry isn't in the mood for celebrations and tries to leave the room, but can't get away from the ecstatic Gryffindor students. He finally manages to slip away to his dormitory after nearly half an hour, and rushes to his dormitory, slamming the door behind him. Harry is confused by Ron's attitude towards him, and realises that Ron doesn't believe he didn't enter himself. Harry is left standing by the door after his argument with Ron, staring at the dark curtains hiding Ron's bed.

It takes Harry a moment to remember why he feels so miserable and worried when he wakes the next morning. He leaves his bed quickly, intending to talk to Ron and to try and force his friend to believe him, but finds Ron's bed empty. When Harry enters the common room he is faced with more applause; the prospect of going down into the Great Hall and facing the rest of the Gryffindors does not appeal to Harry, but he leaves the common room anyway, bumping into Hermione outside the portrait hole. He and Hermione make their way outside onto the lawn and walk towards the lake, talking about the previous night as they go. Harry asks Hemione whether she has seen Ron, and is disappointed to hear that Ron still believes Harry entered himself into the Triwizard Tournament. He is incredulous when Hermione tells him that Ron is jealous of Harry, angry that Ron could think he would voluntarily put himself in such danger. Harry is persuaded by Hermione to write to Sirius about the events the previous night, and the two walk to the Owlery together.

Harry finds it difficult to avoid the rest of the school once he is back in lessons and is the focus of much attantion; most of the school, like the Gryffindors, believe that Harry entered his own name into the Goblet of Fire, but unlike the Gryffindors they are not happy about it. Harry finds the Hufflepuff students particularly hostile towards him and thinks that even Professor Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff house, seems distant with him.

During Care of Magical Creatures, Harry is encouraged by Hagrid to help him with the Blast-Ended Skrewts, giving Hagrid a chance to talk to him away from the rest of the class. He feels a rush of gratitude when he realises that Hagrid believes his story, and thinks someone put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire without his knowledge. The next few days are some of Harry's worst at Hogwarts; he feels ostracised by his fellow students, which is made worse by Ron refusing to talk to him. He is distracted during his classes, doing so badly with Summoning Charms that Professor Flitwick gives him extra homework.

When Harry and Hermione arrive outside Snape's dungeon after lunch for their Double Potions lesson, he sees the Slytherin students waiting outside, each wearing large badges on their robes. For a moment he thinks they are S.P.E.W. badges, then realises they are badges supporting Cedric Diggory as the real Hogwarts champion. He feels heat rise up his face and neck as Draco Malfoy taunts him by showing the other message on the badge: POTTER STINKS. Some of the anger Harry has felt for days seems to burst through; he reaches for his wand before he can think and casts Furnunculus at Malfoy, at the same time as Malfoy casts Densaugeo. The spells richochet off each other; Harry turns when he hears Ron and Hermione and sees Ron drag Hermione's hand away from her mouth, revealing her rapidly growing front teeth. Harry attempts to defend himself when Professor Snape arrives in the corridor, but is given a detention. The injustice of Snape's punishment makes him want to curse Snape into a thousand slimy pieces; he walks into the classroom and slams his bag down onto the table in frustration. Harry is excused from the lesson when Colin Creevey arrives to say that Harry is needed upstairs.

Harry walks with Colin Creevey to the classroom where the Weighing of the Wands is being held. He is unenthusiastic about the news that a Daily Prophet photographer will be at the event, reluctant to have more publicity focused on him. Harry is greeted enthusiastically by Ludo Bagman when he enters the room, and is introduced to Rita Skeeter, The Daily Prophet reporter. Harry isn't certain about Rita's request to interview him but is ushered out of the room before he can say anything. Harry stares at Rita after she leads them into a dark broom cupboard for the interview; he sits on a cardboard box, waiting as Rita prepares herself. Harry finds himself distracted during the interview by Rita's Quick-Quotes Quill, which begins to write on the parchment before Harry has even said anything. He becomes irritable during the interview as Rita continually implies that he entered the Triwizard Tournament, and is annoyed when she asks questions about his parents that he couldn't possibly answer. Harry interrupts Rita when he notices the embellished account of the interview written by the Quick-Quotes Quill. The pair are interrupted by Professor Dumbledore, who provides a relieved Harry an escape route. He hurries back into the classroom where the Wand Weighing is taking place and sits down next to Cedric waiting for the ceremony to begin. Harry watches the other champions present their wands to Mr Ollivander; he attempts to subtly polish his own wand before his turn when he sees how grubby it is, but desists when Fleur shoots him a patronising look. As Ollivander examines his wand, Harry reminisces about the day he bought it in Diagon Alley. He has never shared the information Ollivander told him about his wand and Lord Voldemort's, and hopes that Ollivander doesn't reveal it to those assembled in the room. Harry joins the judges and the other champions for photographs after the ceremony before heading down to dinner in the Great Hall. He eats alone at the end of the table, then returns to the dormitory to finish his extra work on Summoning Charms. He strides over to his bed after Ron points out the school barn owl waiting on his pillow, and reads the latest letter from Sirius.

The prospect of talking to Sirius face to face is the only thing that sustains Harry over the next fortnight. The fear of what tasks he faces during the Triwizard Tournament starts to sink in, and Harry feels as though the first task is crouching ahead of him like a horrific monster, barring his path. His nerves are beyond anything he has felt before. Harry is the object of much ridicule after Rita Skeeter's article about him appears in the Daily Prophet. He gets a sick, burning feeling of shame every time he thinks about the article. Harry finds it difficult to ignore all the comments about the article, and is frustrated that he and Ron are still not talking. He stubbornly refuses to talk to Ron again until Ron apologises for calling him a liar, and admits that Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

Harry joins Hermione for a trip into Hogsmeade, but insists on wearing his Invisibility Cloak. He feels wonderfully free as he walks through the village without any horrible remarks or comments about the article coming his way. He refuses to take off his Invisibility Cloak in the Three Broomsticks pub, as he spots Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet photographer. Harry takes a seat at a spare table in the corner of the pub whilst Hermione goes to buy drinks. When he spots Ron sitting with Fred, George and Lee Jordan he is tempted to give Ron an good hard poke in the back of the head, but resists. Harry drinks his Butterbeer and watches the people in the pub. Harry waves to Hagrid when he spots his friend with Professor Moody, forgetting that he is covered with the Invisibility Cloak, and is surprised when Moody appears to notice. He is surprised to discover that Moody's magical eye can see through the Invisibility Cloak. Harry is instructed by Hagrid to come to his cabin at midnight that night.

Harry creeps down to Hagrid's cabin that night, hidden by the Invisibility Cloak. He tells Hagrid that he has to be back at the castle for one o'clock, for his meeting with Sirius. He is intrigued as to what Hagrid wants to show him, and follows him and Madame Maxime around the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest and out of sight of the castle. He is slightly irritated as they walk, convinced that yet another one of Hagrid's harebrained schemes is going to make him miss Sirius. Harry hears an earsplitting roar as they round a clump of trees; his mouth falls open as he sees the four dragons in the enclosure by the Forest. Harry watches the dragon-keepers attempt to restrain the dragons. Harry leaves soon after seeing the dragons and starts to make his way back towards the castle without Madame Maxime or Hagrid. On his way, Harry runs into Professor Karkaroff; quickly checking that the Cloak is covering him, Harry remains still and silent, waiting for Karkaroff to move away.

Harry hurries back to the Gryffindor common room, pulling off the Invisibility Cloak once he is in the room and taking a seat in an armchair in front of the fire. Harry jumps when he sees Sirius's head sitting in the fire, and crouches down by the hearth to talk to his godfather. Harry talks more than he has in days and tells Sirius all about the events of the past few weeks. Harry is shocked when Sirius tells him that Professor Karkaroff was once a Death Eater and that Sirius suspects him of putting Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. His conversation with Sirius is cut short when Ron enters the common room. He is frustrated that Ron interrupted them, although he realises that Ron had no idea about his meeting with Sirius, and snaps at him. When Ron goads him, Harry seizes one of the POTTER REALLY STINKS badges and hurls it as hard as he can at Ron, hitting him on the forehead. Harry storms up to the dormitory and into his bed, and lies awake fuming for a long time afterwards.

Harry makes his way to the Gryffindor table for breakfast that Sunday. He waits until Hermione has finished her breakfast then drags her into the grounds for another walk. He tells her all about the dragons, and about his conversation with Sirius, as they walk around the lake. They try to think of a spell that will subdue a dragon as they walk, and go to the library to continue their research. Harry is frustrated by their lack of success and can't concentrate properly.

When Harry wakes on Monday morning, he seriously considers running away from Hogwarts. When he gets up to leave the breakfast table, Harry spots Cedric Diggory leaving the Hufflepuff table. He hurries after the boy, arriving at the bottom of the staircase in the Entrance Hall just as Cedric reaches the top. He follows Cedric up the stairs and towards the Charms corridor and uses Diffindo to make Cedric's bag split. Harry waits for Cedric's friends to leave, then hurries over to him. He tells Cedric quickly and quietly that the first task is going to involve dragons. He tells Cedric that he thought it would only be fair to tell him, as Fleur and Krum will have been told by their Headmasters. Harry is surprised when Moody emerges from a nearby classroom and tells Harry to come to his office.

Harry admires the Dark Detectors in Moody's office. He is confused about why he is there, and worries that Moody knows Hagrid broke the Tournament rules when showing Harry the dragons. Harry ponders Moody's pieces of advice: that Harry play to his strengths during the first task, and that he find a simple spell to allow him to get what he needs. It takes Harry a few minutes to put the two pieces of advice together but he realises that Moody is suggesting he could use his broomstick during the first task. He hurries to greenhouse three for his Herbology lesson and whispers to Hermione that she needs to help him learn how to do a Summoning Charm by the next afternoon. Harry and Hermione practise Summoning Charms during the afternoon; Harry is keen to skip Divination to continue his practise but can't persuade Hermione to miss Arithmancy. He and Hermione continue working on Summoning Charms after dinner; they stay up until two o'clock in the morning until Hermione is happy that Harry has mastered the spell.

Harry feels oddly separate to the other students the next morning. He is very nervous about the first task. He leaves the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall at lunchtime to get ready for the task. Harry walks with Professor McGonagall to a tent erected near the dragon enclosure, and enters the tent alone. The champions are informed by Ludo Bagman that their task is to collect the golden egg. Harry is the fourth champion to choose their dragon from the bag held by Bagman, he pulls out a tiny model of the Hungarian Horntail with the number 'four' tied around its neck. Harry remains in the tent as the other three champions take their turns to complete the task. It is a worse experience than he could have imagined; he listens to the screams and yells of the crowd outside the tent and hears Ludo Bagman's commentary for each champion.

Harry walks through the entrance of the tent, past the trees and through a gap into the enclosure fence. He raises his wand and performs the Summoning Charm to fetch his Firebolt. Harry waits, praying that the spell has worked, before seeing his Firebolt speeding through the air towards him. As Harry flies into the air on his broomstick, he feels the fear leave him; spotting the golden egg sitting amongst the other dragon eggs by the Horntail's front legs, Harry begins his diversionary tactics to try to make the dragon move. After several attempts to get the dragon to leave the ground, whilst staying out of the range of fire, Harry eventually goads the Hungarian Horntail to fly away from the nest. He speeds towards the ground as fast as he can, towards the now unprotected eggs, and snatches the golden egg in his hands.

Harry is the fastest champion to get the golden egg. He is congratulated by Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and Professor Moody when he returns to the ground. He is led to the first-aid tent to be checked over by Madam Pomfrey. Harry is too full of adrenaline to stay still and walks to the entrance of the tent; before he reaches it, he is joined by Hermione and Ron. Harry is unimpressed when Ron finally says that he believes Harry, cross that it took Ron so long to realise, but forgives his friend. Harry goes outside with Ron and Hermione to receive his marks from the judges. Ron's indignation when Karkaroff only awards him four out of ten is worth a lot to Harry and he feels very happy as they walk from the enclosure. Harry rejoins the other champions in the tent to hear about the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Later in the evening Harry goes with Ron and Hermione to the Owlery to post a letter to Sirius. On the way, Harry fills Ron in on everything Sirius told him about Professor Karkaroff. When Ron tells Harry that he believes Harry could win the Tournament, Harry suspects he is only saying it to make up for his behaviour over the previous few weeks, but appreciates it all the same. The three make their way back to Gryffindor tower for Harry's surprise party. Harry helps himself to food and joins Ron and Hermione at a table, feeling surprisingly happy. He is encouraged by the other students' to open the golden egg; when Hermione reminds him that he is supposed to work on the clue alone, Harry reminds her that she helped him with the first task. He uses his nails to open the egg through the groove that runs around it, but quickly shuts it again when a loud wailing noise erupts from the object.

Harry attends Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures lesson where they attempt to find out whether Blast-Ended Skrewts hibernate. He is one of the few students who helps Hagrid catch and restrain the creatures as they rampage around the pumpkin patch. Harry is not pleased when Rita Skeeter appears during the lesson, and quickly helps Hermione to distract her from questioning Hagrid about the origin of the Skrewts. He tells Rita that Care of Magical Creatures is one of his favourite lessons, watching worriedly as she takes in the burns, scorches and cuts on the other remaining students. Harry gets a bad feeling when Hagrid agrees to an interview with Skeeter, but has no way of communicating this to Hagrid. He is forced to stand in silence as the pair arrange to meet in the Three Broomsticks later in the week.

Harry follows Hermione and Ron down the stairs away from Gryffindor Tower. He is initially confused about where Hermione is leading them, but he and Harry soon realise that they are heading towards the Hogwarts kitchens. Harry is surprised and pleased when Dobby rushes to greet him, although the elf hugs him so hard he thinks his ribs might break. Harry greets Winky by the fireplace, uncertain what to do when the elf bursts into tears. He catches up with Dobby, curious about how long the elf has been working at Hogwarts and how he came to be there. As the trio prepare to leave Harry promises that Dobby can come and see him sometimes, and says goodbye to the other elves working in the kitchens. He, Hermione and Ron make their way back to Gryffindor Tower, the boys munching on the cakes and treats given to them by the elves.

Harry is in no mood to work when term ends, and spends the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with his friends. Harry and Ron are surprised when, after an altercation with Malfoy, they notice that Hermione's teeth are different than they were before Malfoy's attack. Harry receives a letter from Sirius after the first task, congratulating him on getting through the task but reminding him to keep an eye out for anything unusual. Harry thinks that Sirius sounds like Professor Moody, and thinks that Sirius is treating him too cautiously.

Harry wakes very suddenly on Christmas Day; he opens his eyes to see Dobby standing on his bed, so close they are almost nose to nose. He scrambles away from the elf so fast he almost falls out of bed, surprised by Dobby's presence. Harry hurriedly opens his trunk and produces a rolled-up pair of socks to give to Dobby as a present, apologising to the elf for 'forgetting' to wrap them. He thanks Dobby warily for his gift, a hand-knitted pair of mismatched socks. Harry receives much more satisfactory presents from his friends and the Weasley's, with the exception of the single tissue he is sent by the Dursleys. He, Ron and Hermione spend most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone is enjoying their presents, and go out into the grounds in the afternoon for a snowball fight against the rest of the Weasley children.

Harry changes into his dress robes in the dormitory before the Yule Ball. He and Ron make their way to the common room. Harry sees Parvati, his date, waiting for him at the foot of the stairs looking very pretty in her dress robes, and is relieved to see that she isn't giggling. As they enter the Entrance Hall, Harry is called over by Professor McGonagall, and joins the other champions on one side of the doors to the Great Hall, waiting to formally enter the room. He is shocked when he realises that Viktor Krum's date is Hermione, hardly recognising his friend. Harry walks in a procession through the Great Hall towards the top table, and takes the seat next to Percy Weasley. He listens to Percy talk about his promotion and Mr Crouch throughout the meal, resisting the urge to ask whether Crouch has stopped calling Percy "Weatherby" yet.

Harry is nervous when, after dinner is ended, he and the champions have to dance the opening dance of the Yule Ball. He concentrates hard on not tripping over his dress robes, and allows Parvati to steer him around the dance floor, his eyes fixed over the heads of the watching people. Harry is relieved when more people join them on the dance floor and is eager to sit down once the song is over, leading Parvati over to Ron and Padma's table. He and Ron decide to go for a walk when Percy joins their table, and leave the table on the pretext of fetching drinks. The boys slip out into the Entrance Hall, walking into the rose garden outside the front steps of the castle. They have only walked a short way before Harry hears the unpleasantly familiar voice of Professor Snape. The pair stand on the path listening to Snape's argument with Karkaroff, continuing their walk when Snape catches sight of them. As they walk further along the path, Harry overhears Hagrid talking to Madame Maxime. He isn't keen to walk in on the scene, and wants to leave, but can't persuade Ron to walk past Fleur and Roger Davies, who are standing half-concealed in the bushes nearby. Harry is surprised when he hears Hagrid tell Madame Maxime that he is a half-giant, but doesn't find the revelation as shocking as Ron does. Harry knows immediately from the look Ron gives him that he is once again revealing his ignorance of the wizarding world. As the pair walk back towards the Great Hall, Harry listens as Ron tells him all about giants; the boys spend the rest of the ball discussing the creatures, neither of them having any inclination to dance.

After the Yule Ball is over, Harry begins to make his way back to Gryffindor Tower. Halfway up the staircase in the Entrance Hall, Harry hears someone calling him, and turns to see Cedric Diggory running up the stairs towards him. He stares at Cedric as the boy tells him to take a bath with his golden egg, and gives him the password to the Prefects' bathroom. Harry walks back to Gryffindor Tower alone, pondering over Cedric's extremely strange advice.

Harry feels more nervous about the second task after Christmas is over. He starts to take the egg out of his trunk every time he goes up to the dormitory, opening it and listening intently, hoping that it will make some sense. He strains to think what the sound reminds him of but he has never heard anything else like it. Harry tries shaking the egg to make the noise change, asking the egg questions and even throws it across the room, but nothing helps him. He is less than impressed by Cedric's clue, and thinks that he could have been more explicit than telling Harry to take a bath.

Harry is confused when, upon arriving at Hagrid's cabin, they find a new teacher waiting to take the Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Harry asks where Hagrid is, but gets an uninformative response. Harry, Ron and Hermione follow Professor Grubbly-Plank towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where they see a large and beautiful unicorn tethered to a tree. Harry worries about Hagrid, annoyed by Professor Grubbly-Plank's dismissive attitude towards him. When Draco Malfoy hands Harry a folded page of newsprint, Harry snatches it, and reads Rita Skeeter's article about Hagrid. Harry is furious that the Slytherin students gave horrible information to Skeeter about Hagrid. He remains angry throughout the lesson, the Daily Prophetarticle shaking in his hands as he stares unseeingly at the unicorn. After the lesson, Harry, Ron and Hermione wonder how Rita Skeeter managed to find out about Hagrid. They walk to Hagrid's cabin after dinner, hoping to talk to their friend, but Harry is unable to persuade him to open the door.

In Hogsmeade, Harry keeps his eyes peeled for a sign of Hagrid as he, Ron and Hermione walks through the High Street. Harry suggests they visit the Three Broomsticks pub once he is certain that Hagrid is not in any of the shops. Harry is disappointed when he realises that Hagrid is not in the pub either, and gloomily thinks that he might as well have stayed behind and listened to the egg wailing after all. As they stand at the bar, Harry and Hermione see Ludo Bagman sitting in the corner of the room, talking to a group of goblins. Harry thinks it odd that Bagman is at the Three Broomsticks on a weekend there is no Triwizard event, and watches the wizard closely in the mirror behind the bar. When Bagman approaches Harry, he agrees to speak to Bagman alone.

As Bagman congratulates him for his performance against the Hungarian Horntail, Harry notices that the goblins are watching Bagman very closely as the pair talk. Harry knows that Bagman doesn't want to talk to him alone just to congratulate him; he is surprised when he asks how Harry is getting on with the golden egg. When Bagman offers to help Harry decipher the clue, Harry is careful to keep his voice casual, careful not to sound as though he is accusing the judge of breaking the rules of the Tournament. He isn't quite sure why but he refuses Bagman's help. Harry feels that accepting the help of a stranger like Ludo Bagman is somehow worse than asking advice from Ron, Hermione or Sirius. He tells Hermione and Ron about his encounter with Bagman after rejoining them at their table. When Rita Skeeter enters the Three Broomsticks, Harry glares at her. He wants to know why she wrote the article about Hagrid, and is furious with her for creating a problem where there wasn't one.

On their way back to the castle from Hogsmeade, Harry and Ron struggle to keep up with Hermione as she strides along the path. They follow her to Hagrid's cabin, hearing Fang barking as they approach. The trio enter the cabin after Professor Dumbledore opens the door; Harry has to fend an enthusiastic Fang off as he looks around the room. Harry tries to convince Hagrid that they don't care about the article written by Rita Skeeter, and points out that his relatives aren't any better. He fibs about his progress with the egg when Hagrid tells him how much it would mean to him if Harry won the Triwizard Tournament. Harry is unable to banish the image of the happy expression on Hagrid's face as he imagines Harry winning the Tournament as he, Ron and Hermione make their way back up to the castle. The puzzle of the egg weighs heavily on his mind during the evening, and by the time he goes to bed Harry has made up his mind to see if Cedric's hint is worth anything.

As he doesn't know how long a bath he will need to work out the secret of the golden egg, Harry decides to go to the Prefects' bathroom at night when there will be fewer people around. He plans his excursion carefully, not wanting to be caught out of bed and out of bounds by Filch as he has before. On Thursday night, Harry sneaks up to bed, puts on the Invisibility Cloak, creeps back downstairs and waits for Ron to open the portrait hole from the corridor. Harry finds it awkward walking under the Cloak with the heavy egg under one arm whilst also holding the Marauder's Map. He successfully reaches the door to the bathroom without running into anyone, and mutters the password to allow him inside. Harry is impressed by the immense bathroom, and thinks it would be worth becoming a Prefect just to be able to use it. He amuses himself running the bath, intrigued by all the different bubble bath and effects made by the taps surrounding the swimming pool-sized bath, and slides into the water once it is full. Harry swims around the bath for a while, then reaches for the egg and opens it. He snaps the egg shut almost immediately, the wailing noise just as incomprehensible as ever. Harry is startled when Moaning Myrtle appears in the bathroom and tells him to open the egg underwater, her sudden appearance causing him to drop the egg and watch as it clatters across the bathroom floor. He is outraged that she is in the bathroom whilst he is taking a bath, although with the dense foam in the bath it hardly matters. He makes sure Myrtle has her eyes shut as he goes to retrieve the egg, reentering the bath and lowering the egg under the surface of the water. When he puts his head below the surface of the water, Harry is surprised to hear a song being sung instead of the wailing noise. It takes him three more underwater renditions of the song before he has it memorised; he treads water for a while, thinking hard about what it could mean. Harry realises that the song could be referring to creatures living underwater in the lake at Hogwarts; his eyes fall on the picture of the sleeping mermaid hanging on the wall and he excitedly asks Myrtle whether there are merpeople living in the lake, guessing that he has to go find them during the second task. As he prepares to leave the bathroom, he wonders what the object the merpeople will have taken is that he will 'sorely miss', and worries about how he will be able to breathe underwater.

Outside in the dark corridor, Harry examines the Marauder's Map to check whether the coast is clear. He starts to walk back towards Gryffindor Tower before something odd catches his eye on the map - a single dot flitting around in Snape's office, labelled Bartemius Crouch. Harry is confused about what Mr Crouch is doing at Hogwarts when he is supposedly too ill to go to work. Harry hesitates for a moment but his curiosity gets the better of him, and he starts to walk towards Snape's office.

Harry walks down the stairs as quietly as possible, then takes a shortcut via another staircase to take him two floors down. Halfway down the staircase, Harry's leg sinks into a trick step. He gives an ungainly wobble and drops the golden egg; he tries to catch it, but isn't quick enough to prevent it from falling down the stairs. As Harry attempts to catch the egg, the Invisibility Cloak begins to slip off; as he snatches at the Cloak the Marauder's Map flutters out of his hand and lands six stairs below him, just out of his reach. As the now open egg begins to wail in the corridor below, Harry hurriedly tries to touch the Marauder's Map with his wand to wipe it blank, but it is too far away. He pulls the Cloak back over himself and straightens up as he hears Filch approaching the staircase. Harry is moments away from being discovered by Filch when Professor Snape appears at the bottom of the stairs.

Harry listens as Filch and Snape discuss the intruder in Snape's office, and Filch's reluctance to abandon his hunt for Peeves to search for the intruder. When Professor Moody joins the group on the staircase, Harry's heart gives a horrible jolt, as he knows Moody's magical eye can see through the Invisibility Cloak. The two stare at each other in silence, but Harry is not given away. When Moody notices the Marauder's Map on the staircase, Harry desperately tries to catch his eye and mouth to the teacher that the Map is his. Snape recognises the Map, and guessing that Harry is hiding nearby under his Invisibility Cloak begins to search for him, but with Moody's help Harry narrowly escapes being discovered. After Snape and Filch leave the corridor, Harry shows Professor Moody what the Marauder's Map does. He admits that he saw Barty Crouch in Snape's office on the Map, and asks why Crouch might have been in there. He agrees to lend the Map to Moody, relieved in part that Moody doesn't ask where he originally got the Map from. He walks back to Gryffindor Tower, lost in thought about Snape and Crouch.

During their Charms lesson, Harry tells Ron and Hermione about his run-in with Snape and Moody the previous night. As the three of them discuss their theories during the lesson, Harry decides he wants to know what Snape's first chance was, if he is on his second chance now.

Harry spends a lot of time researching methods of breathing underwater in preparation for the second task. Although he, Ron and Hermione spend all of their free time and weekends in the library in the lead up to the second task, they find nothing feasible that would enable Harry to breathe underwater for an hour. Familiar flutterings of panic start to disturb Harry, and he finds it difficult to concentrate in lessons, focusing instead on the lake.

On the night before the second task, Harry sits in the library with Hermione and Ron, tearing feverishly through page after page of spells. The trio are surprised when Fred and George arrive to fetch Ron and Hermione; Harry is left alone in the library to continue his research. Harry moves to the common room when the library closes, but returns later that night, hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, to carry on reading.

Harry is woken from a strange dream by Dobby poking him. He tells Dobby that he isn't going to do the second task, as he doesn't know how, but is surprised when Dobby produces his solution: a ball of Gillyweed. Harry sprints down to the lake, arriving just in time for the task to begin.

He enters the lake chewing the Gillyweed, feeling slightly foolish for walking into the lake with no obvious magical power. Quite suddenly, the effects of the Gillyweed start to take place, and Harry flings himself into the water as gills appear on the sides of his neck. He marvels at how far and fast his new flipper-like hands and feet propel him through the water, and swims into the depths of the lake. Harry encounters Grindylows in the lake, but manages to free himself from their grasp. He is pointed in the right direction by Moaning Myrtle, and sets off through the water, careful to swim a bit higher over the weeds to avoid any more Grindylows. Harry soon enters the mer-village, swimming towards the sounds of the song from the egg. When Harry notices the hostages tied to the statue of the merperson, he wonders how he is going to free them. He asks the merpeople to lend him a spear, but is refused. He eventually uses a jagged rock to free Ron from his bindings, but is furious when the merpeople forbid him from rescuing Hermione as well. Harry worries that the other champions have not arrived, and doesn't want to leave the other hostages behind. After Cedric and Krum have been and gone, Harry waits for Fleur to arrive, but when she does not appear he eventually picks up the stone once again and approaches Gabrielle Delacour. Harry pulls his wand on the defensive merpeople, threatening them with magic if they don't move away. He frees the little girl, grabs both her and Ron, and starts to swim towards the surface of the lake.

Harry feels foolish and annoyed when he realises that the song wasn't meant to be taken that seriously, and that the hostages were not in any great danger. He and Ron pull Fleur's sister towards the bank, so exhausted that he can hardly speak. Despite the delay in Harry's return from the lake, he is awarded forty-five points for the second task, for showing moral fibre, which puts him in tied first place with Cedric Diggory. Harry is dazed as he walks back to the castle, scarcely able to believe that he has got through another task.

Harry recieves a letter from Sirius on Friday morning asking him to be at the stile on the road out of Hogsmeade on Saturday afternoon. He is tense as he realises Sirius has returned to the area, and worries about what will happen if Sirius is caught. Despite his worry, Harry is happy at the prospect of seeing Sirius again, and approaches his Potions lesson feeling much more cheerful than usual. He, Hermione and Ron are caught reading Rita Skeeter's article in Witch Weekly under the desks in the Potions classroom by Professor Snape; Harry's face burns as Snape reads excerpts from 'Harry Potter's Secret Heartache' out loud to his classmates, and is furious when Snape makes him move to the table in front of Snape's desk for the remainder of the lesson. Harry vehemently denies breaking into Snape's office when the teacher confronts him about it, determined not to look guilty as he discovers that the Gillyweed Dobby gave him for the second task was stolen from Snape's private stores. He represses a shudder after Snape threatens to trick Harry into drinking Veritaserum, a Truth Potion, horrified by the thought of Snape discovering all of his secrets.

Harry is intrigued when Professor Karkaroff enters the Potions classroom, determined to speak to Snape. He watches Karkaroff hover by Snape's desk throughout the lesson, and deliberately knocks over his bottle of armadillo bile two minutes before the end of the class. He ducks behind his cauldron to mop up the armadillo bile as the rest of the class file out of the door, and listens to the teachers' hurried conversation. He leaves the classroom at top speed after Snape notices him, eager to tell Ron and Hermione what he witnessed.

Harry, Ron and Hermione leave the castle at noon the next day and make their way to Hogsmeade. At half past one, they walk out towards the edge of the village and meet Sirius at the stile at the end of the lane. Harry follows Sirius across the across the scrubby patch of ground that rises to meet the foot of the mountain, and up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour they follow Sirius up the steep, winding path, finally arriving at a narrow fissure in the rock; squeezing into it, they find themselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. The trio bow to Buckbeak in greeting, and Harry turns to look at his godfather. He hands over the bundle of chicken legs and bread to Sirius, and asks his godfather what he is doing back in Hogsmeade. The four discuss who could have stolen Harry's wand at the Quidditch World Cup, and work out everyone's movements after the Dark Mark was conjured. Harry listens as Sirius tells them about Barty Crouch, and about life during the first wizarding war. At half past three, the trio walk back down the mountainside with Sirius and towards Hogsmeade. After leaving Sirius, the three make their way back to Hogwarts.

Harry, Hermione and Ron visit Dobby in the kitchens after sending a letter to Percy about Mr Crouch. Harry gives Dobby a new pair of socks, and thanks the house-elf for finding the Gillyweed that he used in the second task, telling the elf that it saved his life. The trio are worried when they see the state Winky is in, and Harry attempts to talk to her, asking her about Mr Crouch. He tells Winky that Crouch hasn't been seen since the first task, and is intrigued when Winky reveals that Crouch entrusted her with his most important secret. Harry is unable to persuade Winky to tell them what the secret is. He, Ron and Hermione are shunted out of the kitchens after Hermione attempts to talk to the house-elves about their rights. Later that evening, Harry takes a parcel of food up to the Owlery to deliver to Sirius. After sending Pigwidgeon to the mountain, helped by two school screech owls, Harry leans on the window-sill of the Owlery, watching people in the castle grounds until darkness falls.

Harry is intrigued when he sees the many letters Hermione is sent at breakfast, and wants to know who they are from. He reads some of the hate mail Hermione is sent, and tells her to go to the hospital wing when one of the envelopes is revealed to contain Bubotuber pus. He and Ron attend their Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures lessons without Hermione, enjoying the treasure hunt that Hagrid arranged for the class.

In the last week of May, Harry is told to go to the Quidditch pitch at nine o'clock in the evening to find out about the third task. He leaves Ron and Hermione at half past eight, joining Cedric Diggory in the Entrance Hall, and the two make their way towards the Quidditch pitch. Harry is interested to find out what the third task will entail, but is horrified when he sees that there are hedges growing all over the Quidditch pitch. He and Cedric are glad to hear that after the third task, the maze that is being grown on the Quidditch pitch will be removed. Harry and Cedric will be the first to enter the maze, as they are leading on points for the Tournament.

After Bagman's talk, Harry begins to walk back to the castle. He is surprised when Viktor Krum asks to talk to him, and follows the Durmstrang student towards the Forbidden Forest. From Krum's manner, he expects a serious talk, and is amazed when Krum asks him what there is between him and Hermione. As the boys are talking, Harry notices something moving in the trees behind Krum. When Mr Crouch appears from the woods, Harry walks cautiously towards him, worried by the wizard's behaviour. As Crouch begs to see Dumbledore, Harry attempts to persuade him to walk to the castle, but eventually goes alone, leaving Krum to watch over Mr Crouch. Harry sprints to Dumbledore's office, and tries in vain to guess the password. When Snape appears from behind the stone gargoyle, Harry tries to tell the teacher about Mr Crouch, but is continuously dismissed. Their argument alerts Professor Dumbledore to their presence, and Harry leads Dumbledore back to the Forbidden Forest, telling the Headmaster about the encounter with Crouch as they walk. Harry is confused when Crouch is nowhere to be seen, and more so when they find Viktor Krum unconscious on the forest floor. Harry is sent back to the castle by Dumbledore after Krum is woken, and agrees to wait until the morning to contact Sirius. He clambers through the portrait hole in the common room and hurries to tell Ron and Hermione what has happened.

Harry enters Professor Dumbledore's office after being spotted through the door by Professor Moody. He is greeted by Cornelius Fudge, and lets the Minister know that Madame Maxime couldn't have been involved in Mr Crouch's disappearance in the Forbidden Forest, having overheard Fudge's prejudiced theories from outside the door. Harry is left alone in Dumbledore's office as the Headmaster leads a quick examination of the school grounds. As he looks around the office, he notices a sliver of silver white shining from within a black cabinet, whose door is not closed properly. Harry opens the door and discovers that the silvery light is coming from the contents of a shallow, stone basin. Harry is intrigued, and pulls his wand out, touching it to the contents of the basin. When he looks into the basin, he expects to see the stone bottom, but instead sees an enormous room below the surface. Harry leans closer to the image, the tip of his nose touching the strange substance in the basin, and finds himself thrown forwards headfirst into the basin. Harry falls through icy cold, black darkness and finds himself sitting on a bench in a room, next to a younger Albus Dumbledore. Harry soon realises that he is inside a memory of the Headmaster's, and watches as a hearing of Igor Karkaroff takes place. When the memory of Karkaroff's hearing ends, the room and voices fade, and Harry finds himself in the same dungeon once more, this time in a different seat. He watches as Ludo Bagman is put on trial for involvement with Death Eaters. Harry is intrigued when he sees a younger Rita Skeeter present at the trial, and understands her comment about Ludo Bagman in the Three Broomsticks pub earlier in the year much better.

The final trial Harry witnesses is that of Barty Crouch Junior and three other Death Eaters, who are on trial for the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom. Harry watches as Barty Crouch reads the accusations against his son, and sentences him to a life sentence in Azkaban. As Barty Crouch Junior is dragged away by the Dementors, Harry hears Dumbledore's voice in his ear, telling him it is time to return to his office.

Harry apologises to Dumbledore for entering the Pensieve. He is intrigued when he discovers that the Pensieve contains not only memories, but thoughts as well. He watches Dumbledore add a new thought to the Pensieve, and gapes as Snape's face appears in the basin, talking as though to Dumbledore. He tells Dumbledore about the dream he had about Voldemort and Wormtail, and asks Dumbledore if he knows why his scar is hurting. He asks Dumbledore what made Professor Snape stop supporting Voldemort, but is told that is a matter between the Headmaster and the Professor. Harry agrees to keep the knowledge about Neville's parents to himself, knowing Neville should be able to let people know when he is ready.

Harry sends Sirius a letter describing everything he saw in the Pensieve immediately after leaving Dumbledore's office. He tells Ron and Hermione everything he has seen, and the trio sit up late in the common room that night talking it all over. The trio go to bed after their conversation, aware that Harry has to get some sleep. As he gets ready for bed, Harry glances over at Neville's bed, thinking about Neville's parents. Harry often gets sympathy for being an orphan, but thinks that Neville deserves it more that he does, unable to imagine how it would feel to have parents still living, but unable to recognise you. As he listens to Neville's snores, Harry feels a rush of anger towards the people who tortured Mr and Mrs Longbottom.

Harry is helped by Ron and Hermione to prepare for the third task. The mood in the castle becomes both exciting and tense as the third task approaches. Harry practises hexes at every available moment, feeling more confident about the third task than he had about the previous two. He is given permission to use the empty Transfiguration classroom to practise his spells at lunchtimes. Harry's nerves mount as June the twenty-fourth approaches, but his confidence levels remain high, the thought of the Tournament being almost over a huge relief. Harry doesn't worry himself about the article written by Rita Skeeter for the Daily Prophet, which claims Harry is 'disturbed and dangerous', nor about how Skeeter got her information.

Harry is asked to join the three other champions in the chamber off the Great Hall after breakfast on the morning of the third task. He is confused when Professor McGonagall mentions that the champions' families will be meeting them in the chamber, not expecting to ever see the Dursleys at Hogwarts. Harry is thrilled when he walks into the chamber to see Mrs Weasley and Bill waiting for him. Harry has an enjoyable morning walking through the sunny castle grounds with Mrs Weasley and Bill, and shows them the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship. During lunch, Harry persuades Mrs Weasley that the facts reported about Hermione in the Witch Weekly are not true. He, Bill and Mrs Weasley while the afternoon away with a long walk around the castle, returning to the Great Hall for the evening feast.

Harry makes his way to the Quidditch pitch after the feast to prepare for the third task. He runs through the hexes and spells he has learnt as he walks, the knowledge that he can remember them all making him feel better. Harry enters the maze first, alongside Cedric. After about fifty yards the boys reach a fork in the maze; Harry takes the left path, leaving Cedric to take the right. Harry hurries through the maze, using the Four-Point Spell to keep aware of his position in the maze. Harry defeats a Boggart in the maze after briefly mistaking it for a real Dementor, and manages to get through an enchanted mist that strongly disorientates him. After Harry gets past an enormous Blast-Ended Skrewt, he overhears Cedric and Krum in a nearby path. Harry is horrified when he hears Krum use the Cruciatus Curse on Cedric, and rushes to help, Stunning Krum as he attempts to get away. He and Cedric send red sparks to mark Krum's location, both shocked by the change in the Durmstrang champion's behaviour. The two boys separate as they continue their hunt for the Triwizard Cup, with Harry next facing a riddle from a Sphinx. Finally, using the Four Point Spell once more, Harrry gets on the right path and spots the Triwizard Cup. As he runs towards it he sees Cedric break out onto the path ahead of him. He warns Cedric when he sees a giant spider approaching the Hufflepuff from the left. Harry's leg is injured in the endeavour, but together they defeat the creature, using simultaneous spells to knock it unconscious.

Although he can see the Triwizard Cup, Harry knows that with his injured leg he will not be able to outrun Cedric to the Cup. Harry encourages Cedric to touch the Cup first, thus winning the task, but is convinced by Cedric that without his help, Cedric wouldn't have been able to get as far as he has in the Tournament. The boys decide to take the Cup together, creating a joint win, happy that it will be a Hogwarts victory either way. Harry is helped to the Cup by Cedric, and they hold their hands over the gleaming handles. When they touch the Cup, Harry feels a jerk somewhere behind his navel; his feet leave the ground, and the boys are transported away from the maze by the unexpected Portkey.

Harry feels his feet slam into the ground; his injured leg gives way and he lets go of the Triwizard Cup. He is confused about where he and Cedric have been brought, noticing that the mountains and castle surroundings have disappeared, and that they are standing in a dark and overgrown graveyard. He and Cedric are nervous, unsure whether the journey is a part of the third task. Harry hears someone walking towards them, and sees a figure draw near, holding something in its arms, but is unable to see the person's face. Without warning, his scar explodes with pain, worse than any he has felt in his life; he drops his wand, his knees buckle and he drops to the ground. He hears a high, cold voice say 'Kill the spare', and is horrified when he opens his eyes to see Cedric lying dead on the ground.

Before Harry can feel anything about what he is seeing, he is pulled to his feet. As he is dragged towards a large, marble headstone, he notices the name upon it: Tom Riddle. Harry is tied from neck to ankles to the headstone and gagged. Harry finally recognises the cloaked man as Wormtail, formerly Peter Pettigrew, the wizard who betrayed Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort. Harry watches the bundle of robes that Wormtail placed at the foot of the grave stir fretfully, his scar burning with pain as he does, and suddenly knows he doesn't want to see what is in the robes. He sees Nagini, the giant snake, slithering through the grass, circling the headstone, and watches as Wormtail prepares a stone cauldron at the foot of the grave. Harry lets out a yell when he finally sees what is in the bundle of robes; the shape of a human child, it is hairless and scaly looking, a dark, raw, reddish black creature with a flat and snake-like face and gleaming red eyes. He watches as Wormtail drops the creature into the cauldron, followed by other ingredients, including the bones of Tom Riddle Sr., and Wormtail's own hand. Harry is cut with a dagger by Wormtail, his blood trickling into a glass phial and added to the potion, the 'blood of the enemy' that is required. The blinding sparks emitted from the potion are suddenly extinguished, and Harry sees a surge of white steam emanate from the cauldron. He desperately wishes for the creature to have drowned, but sees with an icy surge of terror a tall, skeletal figure of a man slowly rise from the cauldron. After the creature is robed by Wormtail, Harry watches him step out of the cauldron, and stares into the haunting face of Lord Voldemort.

Harry is released from his bonds by Wormtail, and the gag removed. For a split second, Harry considers making a run for it, but his injured leg puts a stop to the idea. Harry is given back his wand, and is surrounded by the circle of Death Eaters, prepared to duel Voldemort alone. Harry is aware that he is completely unprepared for the duel against the Dark Lord, and refuses to follow the mocking instructions to bow to his duelling partner, only doing so when magically forced. Before Harry can defend himself, he is once again hit with the Cruciatus Curse. The pain is intense and all-consuming, and he loses consciousness of where he is, his head bursting with the pain. He resigns himself to dying at Voldemort's hand following the torture, but finds the strength to resist the Imperius Curse placed on him, the realisation of his situation rushing back to him. Harry is ready when Voldemort next raises his wand, and uses his Quidditch reflexes to throw himself sideways, rolling behind the headstone of Tom Riddle Sr. for cover. He crouches behind the gravestone, preparing himself for the next attack, before throwing himself back into the open, casting a Disarming Charm against the Dark Lord.

The jet of red light that blasts from his wand hits the jet of green light produced by Voldemort's Killing Curse in mid-air; Harry feels his wand vibrate as though an electric charge is surging through it, and his hand seizes up around it, preventing him from letting go. He sees a bright, golden beam connecting his wand to Voldemort's, and the pair are lifted into the air, gliding away from the tombstone and coming to rest on a patch of ground free from graves. Harry and Voldemort are enclosed in a golden, dome-shaped web, separating the pair from the surrounding Death Eaters, and Harry hears the unearthly sound of a phoenix song emitting from every thread of the golden web, filling him with hope. Nothing prepares Harry for the sight of ghostly figures appearing from the end of Voldemort's wand; he watches in astonishment as shadows of Cedric Diggory, Frank Bryce and Bertha Jorkins appear and talk to him. When the fourth shadow begins to emerge, Harry knows it will be that of his mother, and looks into her face. When his father appears, Harry listens to his instructions, understanding what he must do. He agrees to take Cedric's body back to Hogwarts at the boy's request, and prepares to break the connection between his and Voldemort's wands.

Harry wrenches his wand upwards, breaking the golden thread, and runs as he has never run in his life. He zig-zags behind headstones, avoiding the curses of the Death Eaters, running desperately towards Cedric's body. Harry dives at Cedric's body, grabbing hold of its wrist, and uses the Summoning Charm to bring the Triwizard Cup towards them. Catching the Cup by the handle, Cedric and Harry are transported away from the graveyard, back to Hogwarts.

Harry feels himself slam into the ground; he keeps his eyes closed, the breath seems to have been knocked out of him, and his head is swimming. He tightens his grip on the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's body to hold himself steady, and feels as though he will slide away into the blackness gathering at the edges of his brain if he lets go of them. His exhaustion keeps him on the ground, and he waits for something to happen. The sound of footsteps, screams and voices overwhelms him, and he remains where he is, his face screwed up against the noise. Harry is seized roughly and turned over by Professor Dumbledore, a crowd of people surrounding him. Harry lets go of the Cup, but clutches Cedric to him even more tightly, refusing to let the boy go. Harry tells Dumbledore that Voldemort has returned, and that Cedric asked Harry to bring his body back.

Harry is half pulled, half carried away from the crowds and the Quidditch pitch by Mad-Eye Moody, and tells the Professor what occurred after he and Cedric touched the Triwizard Cup. He is taken to Moody's office instead of the hospital wing; the teacher gives Harry a peppery tasting drink, the office coming into sharper focus after he drinks it. Harry is asked about the specifics of Voldemort's return, and tells Moody about the potion that resurrected the Dark Lord. As he talks, Harry suddenly remembers that he hasn't told Dumbledore that there is a Death Eater at Hogwarts, and tries to get up to find the Headmaster. He is pushed back down by Moody, and is told that the Professor knows who the Death Eater is. Harry initially believes that the culprit is Karkaroff, but is horrified when Moody says that he was the one to put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. Harry can't believe what he is hearing, but listens as Moody reveals that he has been ensuring Harry made it through the Triwizard tasks, to allow him a decent head start into the maze. He doesn't understand why Moody - Dumbledore's friend and a respected Auror - would be helping Voldemort, and thinks the teacher is mad. Just as Harry prepares to defend himself against Moody, there is a blinding flash of red light, and he watches as Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall enter the office, having Stunned Moody.

Harry remains in Moody's office at Dumbledore's request. Harry listens as Dumbledore explains that the man he knows as his Professor is in fact an imposter who has been using Polyjuice Potion during the year to disguise himself, and gives a cry of amazement as the trunk in the office is opened to reveal a kind of underground room some ten feet below the ground, with the real Mad-Eye Moody lying asleep on the floor. Minutes pass in silence, then Harry sees the face of the imposter change, and recognises the pale-skinned, freckled man as Barty Crouch Junior. He listens in silence as Dumbledore questions Crouch about his involvement in the events at the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament.

Harry is escorted to Dumbledore's office by the Headmaster. He feels almost numb, and doesn't want to think about any of the events that happened after he first touched the Triwizard Cup. Memories, as fresh and sharp as photographs, flash across his mind. He is glad to see Sirius in Dumbledore's office, and is helped into a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk by his godfather. Harry reluctantly tells Sirius and Dumbledore about the events in the graveyard, talking uninterrupted until he talks of Wormtail piercing his arm with the dagger. When he reaches the part about the golden beam, he finds his throat obstructed, the memories of the people who came out of Voldemort's wand flooding his mind. He listens as Dumbledore explains about Priori Incantatem, and what caused it, and is amazed when it is revealed that the phoenix tail feather in his wand came from Fawkes. He briefly continues telling the story, but cannot continue after he reveals Cedric's final request of him.

Harry is taken to the hospital wing by Dumbledore, accompanied by Sirius in his Animagus form. He is grateful when Dumbledore asks those waiting in the hospital wing not to question him, and gladly pulls on the pyjamas waiting for him and climbs into bed. He takes a potion for a dreamless sleep and, exhausted, falls asleep.

Harry wakes a little while later, hearing whispers around him. He opens his eyes blearily, taking in the presence of Bill and Mrs Weasley near his bed. Harry is silent as he watches Cornelius Fudge, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape enter the hospital wing, quickly followed by Dumbledore. He listens as Dumbledore and Fudge argue about the treatment of Barty Crouch Junior, gradually understanding that Fudge doesn't believe that Voldemort has returned. He knows Fudge must have read Rita Skeeter's articles when the Minister doubts the veracity of his story. Harry shouts at Fudge, telling the Minister that he saw Voldemort and the Death Eaters in the graveyeard. He lists the names of the Death Eaters he saw, but is unsuccessful in making Fudge believe him. Harry's opinion of Fudge deteriorates the more he hears, having always thought him a reasonable, good-natured man. Harry is given his Triwizard winnings just before the angry Minister leaves the hospital wing.

Harry is disappointed when Dumbledore sends Sirius on a task away from Hogwarts, not wanting to say goodbye again so soon. After Dumbledore leaves the hospital wing, Harry slumps back against his pillows. He tells Hermione, Ron and Mrs Weasley that he doesn't want the Triwizard gold, and that he shouldn't have won it. When Mrs Weasley hugs him, the full weight of everything he has seen seems to fall in upon him, and he fights the urge to cry. He drinks his potion for a dreamless sleep after they break apart, immediately falling asleep.

Even a month later, Harry finds he has few memories of the days following the third task. The recollections he does have are very painful, the worst being the meeting with Mr and Mrs Diggory the morning after. Harry is thanked by Cedric's parents for bringing their son's body back to Hogwarts; he tries to give the Diggorys the Triwizard winnings, telling them that Cedric reached the Cup first, but cannot persuade them.

Harry notices that many people avoid him in the school corridors, but doesn't care about the speculation surrounding the events after the third task. He likes it best when he is with Ron and Hermione, talking about other things, or being allowed to sit in silence whilst the pair play chess. He feels as though the three of them have reached an unspoken understanding, each waiting for a sign about what is happening in the world outside of Hogwarts. Harry is disappointed and confused when Ron reveals that Dumbledore wants Harry to go back to the Dursleys for the first part of the summer, instead of being able to stay at The Burrow for the whole holidays. In the absence of a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the trio have those lessons free, and use one to visit Hagrid. They are shocked when Hagrid says that he knew Voldemort would return, but says that with Dumbledore around he is not worried. Harry is thrilled when Hagrid says that he did as much as his father would have done, taking it as high praise. They attempt to find out what job Hagrid will be doing for Dumbledore over the summer, but are unsuccessful.

Harry dreads the Leaving Feast, having avoided being in the Great Hall since the events in the graveyard. When he, Ron and Hermione enter the Hall, they notice that the normal decorations are missing, out of respect for Cedric Diggory. Harry listens quietly to Dumbledore's speech about Cedric, and observes the other students after Dumbledore reveals the truth about Cedric's death. He is toasted by Dumbledore and many of the students in the Great Hall for his bravery the night of the third task.

Harry, Ron and Hermione manage to get a compartment on the Hogwarts Express to themselves for the journey back to London. The trio speak more fully and freely than they have done all week as the train speeds southwards. Harry feels as though Dumbledore's speech at the Leaving Feast has unblocked him somehow, and finds it less painful to discuss what happened during the third task. When Hermione dislodges a copy of the Daily Prophet from her bag, Harry eyes it warily, unsure whether he wants to know what it says. He is surprised when Hermione says that there is only a tiny paragraph about the Triwizard Tournament in the newspaper, and that there won't be any articles from Rita Skeeter anytime soon. He is astonished when Hermione reveals that Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus, and shows them the jar in which the journalist is trapped.

Harry is angry when Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle appear in the doorway of their compartment and begin to taunt the trio about Voldemort's return. He has not been near Malfoy since seeing him mutter to Crabbe and Goyle during Dumbledore's speech about Cedric, and feels a ringing in his ears as he gets angrier. When Malfoy insinuates that Hermione and Ron will be targets of the Dark Lord, as a Mudblood and a Muggle-lover, Harry leaps to his feet and aims the Furnunculus curse towards the Slytherins, hitting Crabbe. He blinks when he sees the three students on the train floor, slowly comprehending that they were hit by more than one spell. He, Ron and George kick, roll and push the unconscious students into the corridor and then come back into the compartment.

Halfway through their fifth game of Exploding Snap, Harry asks the twins who they were blackmailing. He is surprised when they reveal that it was Ludo Bagman, and listens as they describe their money problems with Bagman following the Quidditch World Cup. The group spend the remainder of the journey playing Exploding Snap. At Kings Cross, Harry asks the twins to wait a moment after Ron and Hermione leave the train compartment. He opens his trunk and draws out his Triwizard winnings, offering it to the twins. He eventually persuades the twins to accept the sack of one thousand Galleons to help with their joke-shop. He asks them not to tell Molly about his gift, and to buy Ron a new set of dress robes with some of the money. Beyond the barrier, Harry is greeted by Molly Weasley, who hugs his very tightly. After saying goodbye to his friends, Harry follows Uncle Vernon silently from the station towards the car.

Harry lies flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four, Privet Drive. He is using the hiding place to secretly listen to the Muggle news on his aunt and uncle's television, having been unable to do so in the living room without disruptions or suspicion. He listens to his aunt and uncle talk to each other, suppressing a snort with difficulty as they talk about Dudley, aware that his cousin is not as well-behaved as they think he is. As the news stories come to a close, with no mention of anything that could be attributed to the wizarding world, Harry prepares to crawl out from under the window when he suddenly hears a loud, echoing crack coming from the street outside number four, Privet Drive. He jumps up, pulling his wand from the waistband of his jeans, and hits his head on the living room window frame. He is grabbed round the throat by Vernon through the open window, and struggles with his uncle for a few seconds. Harry tells Vernon to let him go, pulling at his uncle's fingers with his left hand and holding onto his wand with the other. As the pain in Harry's head increases, an invisible force seems to surge through him, making it impossible for Vernon to touch him and forcing his uncle to release him. Harry argues with his aunt and uncle, denying that he had anything to do with the noise. He is certain that the noise was of someone Apparating or Disapparating, and wonders who it could be.

Harry walks away from the house, hardly aware of the route he is taking, thinking about the loud noise. He turns a corner into Magnolia Crescent and continues onto Magnolia Road, heading towards the play park. He stays in the park for a while, sitting in the only unbroken swing seat, angry at Hermione, Ron and Sirius for not contacting him over the holidays. He watches his cousin, Dudley, walk through the park with his gang, and wonders who they have beaten up that day, almost wishing they would notice him and pick a fight. He starts to walk back home, following behind the group of boys, aware that his aunt and uncle will punish him if he arrives home after Dudley. Harry catches up to Dudley in Magnolia Crescent, after the rest of the boys have left, and walks with him. He taunts Dudley about his new nickname, 'Big D', and about the children he and his gang victimise. As they walk through the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk, they continue to snipe at each other. Harry is horrified when he realises that Dudley has overheard his nightmares about the events at the Triwizard Tournament, and Cedric's death. He draws his wand on Dudley, angry at his cousin's taunts, and points it at Dudley's heart.

As they argue, something strange happens in the alley. The sky becomes pitch black and lightless, and the evening turns piercingly, bitingly cold. For a second, Harry thinks he has done magic accidentally, but soon comes to his senses. He recognises the signs that a Dementor is nearby, but doesn't understand how it can be. He listens intently, asking Dudley to stop talking, feeling a jolt of dread as he hears the long, hoarse, rattling breaths of a Dementor. As he tries to quieten Dudley, he is hit in the side of the head by his cousin, so forcefully that he is lifted off his feet. Harry lands hard on the ground, his wand flying out of his hand, and scrambles to his hands and knees to search for it. Harry hears Dudley blundering away down the alley and realises that his cousin is running straight towards the Dementor. He frantically searches for his wand, saying Lumos automatically, desperate for light to help him, and is surprised when his wand-tip ignites, inches from his right hand. Harry scrambles to his feet with the wand, horrified when he sees a Dementor gliding smoothly towards him in the alley. Harry attempts to perform the Patronus Charm several times, unable to produce more than a small wisp of vapour from the top of his wand. He desperately tries to think of a happy thought, finally able to perform the Patronus Charm properly as he thinks of Ron and Hermione. The enormous silver stag bursts from his wand just as the Dementor reaches him, and forces the creature away. When he sees a second Dementor leaning over Dudley, he orders his Patronus to attack it, successfully making the Dementor flee. Harry is horrified by the encounter, and goes to check whether Dudley is alright. When he hears footsteps running towards him, Harry instinctively raises his wand and turns to face the newcomer, hurriedly trying to hide it when he recognises his neighbour Mrs Figg. He is surprised when she tells him not to put his wand away, realising that she is aware that he is a wizard.

Harry is curious about what he read on the piece of parchment, and starts to ask Moody what the Order of the Phoenix is. He is stopped by Moody, who refuses to tell him anything whilst they are on the street. Harry notices that there doesn't appear to be a number twelve, Grimmauld Place on the street, but is told by Lupin to think about what he read on the piece of parchment. Harry gapes when, as soon as he thinks about the part mentioning the house, he sees a house emerge from nowhere, between numbers eleven and thirteen Grimmauld Place.

Harry enters the house, mindful of Lupin's instructions to not go too far in, or to touch anything. The Disillusionment Charm is removed from him by Moody; it as though something hot is trickling down his back. Harry gets an odd feeling of foreboding as the members of the Advance Guard talk in hushed whispers, as though they have entered the house of a dying person. He examines the gloomy hallway of the house before hearing hurried footsteps approaching. Harry is pulled into a rib-cracking hug by Mrs Weasley, who appears from a door at the end of the hall. Harry starts to follow those in the hallway towards the door Mrs Weasley indicates, but is prevented by Mrs Weasley, because he is not a member of the Order. Harry is led up the stairs to the second floor of the house, to the room he is to sleep in.

Harry has barely entered the bedroom before he is greeted by Hermione with a hug so forceful he is nearly knocked flat. Harry is thrilled to see Hedwig in the room, and strokes her when she flies onto his shoulder. As Ron and Hermione try to explain why they didn't write back to him over the summer, the warm glow that had flared inside him at the sight of his friends starts to disappear, and he feels as though he would rather they left him alone. He is angry that everyone knew he was being followed by Order members except him, and wants to know why Dumbledore kept him in the dark. Harry loses his temper, angry that Ron and Hermione have been allowed to stay at Grimmauld Place, and that they are aware of the Order's actions. He is furious that after all the things he has had to deal with over the past four years, no one fought to tell him what was going on. He paces up and down the room after his rant, then asks his friends about the house, and about the Order of the Phoenix. He greets the twins grumpily when they Apparate into the room, and the group are soon joined by Ginny. He listens as they tell him about Bill and Charlie's work for the Order, and about the fight their father had with Percy during the summer. Harry is angry when he hears about how the Daily Prophet has been subtly insulting him in their recent editions, calling him attention-seeking and fame hungry, annoyed that they appear to have forgotten the awful reasons for why he became famous in the first place. The friends are summoned down to dinner by Mrs Weasley, once the Order meeting is over. They are prevented from going too far when Tonks accidentally knocks over the umbrella stand in the hallway and wakes a portrait of a woman which starts shrieking. Harry watches as the grown-ups attempt to close the curtains around the shrieking portrait, and sees his godfather appear from a door off the hall. When Sirius and Lupin finally manage to close the curtains, Harry is greeted by his godfather, and is surprised to learn that the portrait is of Sirius's mother.

When the twins Apparate into Harry and Ron's bedroom later that evening, the boys discuss what the weapon Sirius mentioned could be, wondering what could possibly be worse than the Killing Curse. The next morning, Harry and Ron are woken by George, who says they are needed in the drawing room. The boys dress and make their way downstairs to help tackle the Doxy infestation in the curtains. They spray at the Doxys when the creatures fly out of the curtains, knocking them unconscious, then throw them into a bucket in the drawing room. Harry watches Fred pocket one of the Doxys, curious about what he could need it for, and listens as the twins tell him about their latest progress with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Harry meets Kreacher the house-elf, who tries to protect the Black family tapestry. Harry is intrigued by the tapestry, and examines it with Sirius and the others. He is surprised to see that Sirius isn't on the tapestry, and listens as Sirius tells them about running away, and about the various members of the Black family. He is surprised to learn that Sirius and Tonks are cousins, and that Sirius is related to the Malfoy family. When he sees the name Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry tries to remember where he knows the name from, finally remembering the court scene he witnessed in Dumbledore's Pensieve the previous year. He worries as he thinks about his hearing the next day, and asks Sirius if he can come and live at Grimmauld Place with him if he is expelled. The group spend the next three days cleaning the house, moving to the dining room once the drawing room is complete.

Harry sleeps badly at Grimmauld Place, still having dreams about corridors and locked doors that make his scar prickle, but is finally enjoying his summer holidays. He worries about the possibility of being expelled, but doesn't dare voice this fear out loud. At dinner the night before the hearing, Harry asks Mrs Weasley how he is getting to the Ministry, trying to sound unconcerned as he speaks. He is disappointed when Molly reveals that Dumbledore visited the house the previous night, but didn't ask to see Harry.

Harry wakes at half past five on the morning of his hearing. Unable to bear thinking about the hearing, he gets up and scrambles into his clothes before heading down to the kitchen. He doesn't talk much as he tries to eat his breakfast, unable to manage much to eat or think of anything to say, and listens to the adults' advice. Harry and Mr Weasley travel to the Ministry of Magic via the Muggle underground, choosing to arrive in as non-magical a way as possible due to the nature of the hearing. He follows Arthur from the station in the heart of London down a side road, eventually reaching a street containing several shabby-looking offices, a pub and an overflowing skip. Harry is ushered into a telephone box by Arthur, and watches perplexed as the older wizard lifts the telephone receiver and dials the code. After speaking to the witch who answers the call, a square silver badge with Harry Potter, Disciplinary Hearing written on it is delivered into the metal chute where returned coins usually appear, and Harry is asked to attach it to the front of his robes. The floor of the telephone box shudders and sinks slowly into the ground. Harry and Arthur watch as the pavement seems to rise up past the glass windows arriving in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic after about a minute.

Harry and Arthur join the throng of witches and wizards walking through the Atrium, passing the Fountain of Magical Brethren as they walk towards the security desk on the left of the hall. Harry is introduced to the security wizard and watches as his wand is checked. Harry's wand is soon returned to him, and he follows Arthur towards the golden gates at the end of the Atrium into a smaller hall, joining the crowds around one of the many lifts. Arriving at Level Two of the Ministry of Magic, Harry follows Arthur through the Auror Headquarters towards the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. They encounter Kingsley Shacklebolt on their way; Harry attempts to greet the wizard, but is trod on by Arthur to prevent this. He is shocked to see pictures of Sirius Black covering Kingsley's cubicle, surprised to see the evidence of the ongoing search for his godfather. Harry and Arthur continue towards Arthur's office at the back of the Level, to wait for the hearing to begin.

Perkins arrives in the office and tells them that the hearing has been brought forwards to 8 o'clock, and that it is now being held in Courtroom Ten. Harry and Arthur sprint out of the office towards the lifts, aware that they should have been in the Courtroom five minutes before. Harry is confused about why the time of the hearing was changed at such short notice. When they reach Level Nine of the Ministry, they speed up a corridor and down a flight of stairs. When the pair finally arrive at Courtroom Ten, Harry is disappointed to learn that Arthur cannot attend the hearing. He swallows hard, then turns the heavy iron door handle and enters the courtroom.

Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna leave the train compartment together when the Hogwarts Express arrives at Hogsmeade station. They shuffle out of the compartment and join the crowd in the corridor, eventually disembarking from the train. Harry becomes separated from Ginny as they move along the platform; he squints through the darkness trying to find Hagrid, but is worried when the only teacher he can see is Professor Grubbly-Plank. He worries about Hagrid, and tries to convince himself that there is no serious reason why he isn't there as usual. Separated from Ginny, Harry looks around for Ron and Hermione, but is unable to find them, and is shunted along onto the road outside the station.

Harry does a double-take when he glances at the Hogwarts carriages and sees that they are no longer horseless. He is intrigued by the skeletal horses standing inbetween the carriage shafts, but doesn't understand why they are there, when the carriages are capable of moving along by themselves. Harry is joined by Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Luna outside the station. As they follow Hermione to an unoccupied carriage, Harry asks Ron what the horse-like creatures are. He is confused when Ron says he can't see anything, and grabs his friends arm, wheeling Ron around so that he is face-to-face with one of the creatures. Harry is bewildered and confused when Ron maintains he can't see anything there. He is relieved when Luna reveals that she can see the skeletal horses as well, but is not altogether reassured. He follows Luna into the carriage for the journey up to Hogwarts.

Harry does not have a pleasant time at dinner that evening, news of his shouting match with Umbridge having spread quickly through the school. He hears the whispers all around him as he eats, doubting the truth of his account of the events in the graveyard. He is confused about why they do not believe him now when they accepted the story when Dumbledore told them at the end of year feast. He is angry when Hermione tries to justify their doubts.

During their lessons the following day, Harry and the rest of the students are reminded of the importance of their O.W.L.s by the professors. The students are given extensive homework by their teachers, and difficult spells to practise during their lessons. By the end of their Transfiguration lesson, neither Ron nor Harry are able to make their snails disappear using Vanishing Spells. Harry is surprised to see Professor Grubbly-Plank taking the fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures lesson. He asks her where Hagrid is at the end of the class, but is unable to find out anything useful. Harry heads straight to dinner after his lessons before his detention with Professor Umbridge. He is confused when an angry-looking Angelina calls to him in the Entrance Hall, but eventually remembers that his detention that Friday will clash with the Gryffindor Quidditch team Keeper tryouts.

At five to five that afternoon Harry makes his way to Professor Umbridge's office for his detention. He takes a seat at a small table in the office, where a piece of blank parchment has been placed. Harry asks the professor to rearrange his detention on Friday to allow him to attend the Keeper tryouts, but is refused. He is handed a long, thin black quill by Umbridge and told to write the lines I must not tell lies, but is confused when she provides no ink to write with. Harry gives a gasp of pain when he beings to write; the words he is writing with the quill are cut into the back of his hand as though by a scalpel, healing over again as he stares at them. He feels a searing pain as he continues to write the lines, but refuses to show Umbridge any sign of weakness. When darkness has fallen, Harry is allowed to stop writing lines, but is told to appear the next evening for another detention. Harry doesn't tell Hermione or Ron about the Black Quill.

Harry finds the second detention as bad as the previous one. The skin on the back of his hand becomes irritated more quickly, and is soon red and inflamed. He predicts that the words cut into his hand will soon stop healing as effectively, and wonders if Umbridge will be satisfied when they are permanently etched into his hand. He returns to the Gryffindor common room after midnight, staying awake to finish his homework. By the end of the third detention the next day, the words I must not tell lies remain scratched into the back of his hand, oozing droplets of blood. On his way back to the common room that night, Harry bumps into Ron with his new broomstick, and is curious about what his friend has been doing. He is thrilled when Ron admits he is hoping to try out for Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team the next day, happy at the thought of Ron playing on the team. Harry accidentally shows Ron the words cut into his hand as they talk, and tells his friend the truth about his detentions. He refuses to alert Professor McGonagall about the detentions, not wanting to give Umbridge the satisfaction of knowing she has got to him.

Harry's final detention occurs at the same time as the Keeper tryouts. As he writes the lines, he surreptitiously glances out of the window in Professor Umbridge's office to watch the Quidditch pitch in the distance. He continues to write the lines, looking up at the Quidditch pitch whenever he thinks it safe, barely noticing night falling. Harry is asked to show Umbridge his hand; when she takes hold of his arm to examine the words cut into his skin he feels a peculiar sensation in his midriff and a pain in his scar. He wrenches his arm out of her grip and leaps to his feet, horrified. Harry rushes to Gryffindor tower and enters the common room. Harry is pleased that Ron is the new Gryffindor Keeper, and tries to smile naturally when he hears the news.

Harry accompanies the Weasleys, Hermione and members of the Order to St Mungo's on Christmas Day to visit Arthur. When Molly begins to get angry with Arthur for meddling with Muggle remedies on his wounds, Harry hastily suggests going to get a cup of tea, and leaves the ward with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. The four wander up a staircase in the hospital towards the tearoom on the fifth floor, but are surprised to see Gilderoy Lockhart peering out at them from the double doors on the fourth floor. They greet Lockhart warily; Harry's sympathy for his former professor is limited after the events in the Chamber of Secrets in his second year. When Lockhart asks whether they have met before, Harry tells him that he used to teach them at Hogwarts. The group are encouraged by the Healer in charge of Lockhart to visit with him in the Janus Thickey Ward, and helplessly follow the pair into the room.

Harry is horrified when he hears the name 'Longbottom' and notices a depressed looking Neville walking towards them from the back of the ward. He looks around wildly for some way of distracting the others so Neville can leave unnoticed, but is unable to prevent Ron from calling out to their friend. Harry is greeted by Neville's grandmother, Augusta Longbottom. He feels sorry for Neville when his grandmother asks why he hasn't told his friends about his parents, but cannot think of a way to help. When Alice Longbottom shuffles towards the group, Harry looks at her face, unable to see any resemblance to the plump, happy-looking face he had seen in Moody's photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix. When Neville and his grandmother have left, Harry admits to the others that he knew about Neville's parents, and tells them that their torture was the reason Bellatrix Lestrange was imprisoned in Azkaban.

Harry's Occlumency lesson in Snape's office is interrupted when they hear a muffled commotion coming from the Entrance Hall. He and Snape hurry out of the office and towards the Entrance Hall; Harry pushes through the crowd of students assembled in the Hall. He stares at Umbridge's confrontation with Trelawney, Dumbledore and McGonagall in silent horror, watching as Dumbledore arrives to assist Professor Trelawney.

If not for the DA lessons, Harry thinks he would be extremely unhappy; the O.W.L.s are drawing nearer and all the fifth-years suffer from stress to some degree. He thoroughly enjoys the DA lessons, swelling with pride as he sees how far his fellow members have come. He wonders how Professor Umbridge will react when all the members of the DA receive 'Outstanding' in their Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.s.

Harry begins to teach the DA members how to cast a Patronus Charm in the Room of Requirement. He reminds them that producing a Patronus in the middle of a brightly lit classroom when they are not under threat is very different to producing one when confronted by something like a Dementor. Harry is surprised when Dobby enters the room, shaking and terrified. He waits as Dobby attempts to tell him something, and tries to prevent the house-elf from punishing himself, recognising the signs. He asks Dobby what the matter is, forced to guess most of the details. but eventually realises that Professor Umbridge is on her way to the Room of Requirement having found out about the DA group. He instructs the students to run, and picks up Dobby, hurrying to the queue to exit the room. He orders Dobby to return to the kitchens, and to lie if he is questioned about warning Harry. Harry glances left and right, seeing the other students escaping down the corridor, and starts to run right, towards the boy's bathroom, hoping to pretend he had been there all along.

Harry is caught by Draco Malfoy as he attempts to escape from the corridor outside the Room of Requirement and is taken to Dumbledore's office by Umbridge. When Fudge asks if he knows why he has been brought there, Harry starts to respond with a defiant 'yes', but changes his mind when Dumbledore shakes his head, and denies any knowledge of an illegal student organisation. Harry listens as Umbridge questions Marietta Edgecombe, her informant. He feels a surge of pride at Hermione's jinxing ability as Umbridge admits she has been unable to reverse the jinx that caused the words 'SNEAK' to appear on Marietta's face.

Harry is horrified when Umbridge produces the list of students in the DA. When Dumbledore falsely admits to organising the meeting, Harry starts to protest, but is silenced by Dumbledore. He is forced to the floor by McGonagall during the scuffle that follows, only stopping struggling against her when it is over. Harry is told to keep practising Occlumency by Dumbledore; when the Headmaster grasps his wrist, a pain shoots through his scar and Harry feels a snake-like urge to bite him. He watches as Fawkes and Dumbledore disappear from the office, and sees the Ministry officials awaken. Harry and Marietta are escorted back to their dormitories by Professor McGonagall.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna travel to the Department of Mysteries. Once in the main hall of the department, the group try to find the correct door to lead them to the place, where Harry saw Sirius lying injured. Once in the main hall, the walls rotate rapidly, coming to a stop moments later. Harry is unsure where to lead the group - in his dreams his path to Sirius appeared easier - but tells them to try a few doors to find the room that appears to glitter. The group begin to try various doors together, first entering the Brain Room.

The second door leads the group to a room resembling an amphitheatre, with a veiled archway in the centre. Harry is entranced by the archway, and hears whispered voices coming from behind the veil. He is reluctant to leave, only doing so when Hermione reminds him that they need to help Sirius.

When the group enter the Time Room, Harry leads them towards a second door. Creeping into a cold room, they try to find row ninety-seven. Harry is confused when they reach the row and Sirius is nowhere to be found, and is curious when Ron finds a prophecy with Harry's name on it:

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.
Dark Lord
and (?)Harry Potter

Feeling slightly reckless, Harry grabs the orb from the shelf, surprised when it is warm to the touch, but is disappointed when nothing happens. He then hears a voice behind him, telling him to hand over the orb.

Harry and the other students fight the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. Harry attempts to protect the prophecy from the Death Eaters, but eventually asks the Dark wizards to let his friends go in return for the glass orb. When Neville is tortured, Harry sees no choice but to hand over the prophecy but stops when Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Moody and Kingsley burst into the Death Chamber. Harry rushes to Neville to help him, supporting his friend as they attempt to escape. Harry is seized around the neck, pulled upright by a Death Eater and struggles to breathe, but is saved by Neville. Harry helps Neville up the steps, hindered by the Tarantallegra spell cast on his friend. He desperately heaves Neville up by his robes, accidentally tearing them along the left seam, causing the prophecy to fall out of Neville's pocket and smash on the floor. Harry is horrified as he watches a pearly-white figure rise into the air and begin to speak, unable to hear a word of the prophecy with all the noise surrounding them.

Harry is relieved when Dumbledore enters the chamber, feeling certain that they are saved. He spots Sirius and Bellatrix duelling near the stone archway and sees Sirius get hit in the chest with a curse and fall backwards through the veil. Harry releases Neville, unaware of his surroundings, and jumps to the ground, pulling out his wand. He waits in vain for Sirius to reappear on the other side of the veil, and sprints towards the dais when his godfather doesn't appear. Harry is desperate to get to Sirius but is held back by Lupin; he struggles hard against his former professor, but is told there is nothing he can do, Sirius is gone.

After shopping for their school supplies, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny visit Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes with Mr and Mrs Weasley. He laughs when he sees the funny sign in the window, and enters the joke shop, wandering around and taking in Fred and George's new products. Harry is delighted by the shop, and is shown around by Fred and George. Harry is shown the twins' Defence Against the Dark Arts products, and is impressed by the range they have created. He attempts to pay for the things he wishes to buy, but is told he can help himself to anything he wants with no charge, as he gave the twins his Triwizard Tournament winnings as their start-up loan.

When Harry sees Draco Malfoy hurrying up Diagon Alley looking suspicious, he pulls out his Invisibility Cloak and covers himself, Ron and Hermione with it, following the Slytherin student up the street. He sees Malfoy walk into Knockturn Alley, and hurriedly tries to catch up with him.

Harry, Ron and Hermione share a table with Ernie Macmillan in their Potions lesson. Harry and Ron are lent copies of Advanced Potion Making and potion ingredients by Professor Slughorn as they were not expecting to be allowed to do Potions at N.E.W.T. level. Harry is interested when Slughorn shows the class pre-prepared Potions, including Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion, Amortentia and Felix Felicis.

For Harry, the Love Potion Amortentia, which smells different to everyone according to what attracts them, smells like treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle and something flowery he recognises as being from The Burrow.

Harry is annoyed when he opens his borrowed textbook and sees that the previous owner has scribbled all over the pages. He tries to decipher the ingredients and hurries to find what he needs to create the Draught of Living Death. Harry struggles to release the juice of the Sopophorous Bean, and takes the advice written in the book by the previous owner of crushing the Bean with the flat side of a dagger, instead of cutting it. He is amazed when the instruction proves correct, and his annoyance with the ex-student vanishes. Harry continues to follow their advice, feeling elated when he sees that no one else's potion looks as good as his. Harry's potion is deemed the best by Professor Slughorn, and he is awarded the tiny vial of Felix Felicis as a prize.

Harry is annoyed when Hermione insinuates that he cheated to win the prize. He is indignant when Hermione insists on checking the book for enchantments, and snatches it back after nothing occurs. He is intrigued when he sees the inscription on the bottom of the back cover, reading that the book is the property of the self-titled Half-Blood Prince.

Harry, Ron and Hermione leave the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade after Katie Bell and her friend Leanne, and walk up the road towards Hogwarts. A little while later, Harry becomes aware of Katie and Leanne arguing, their voices carried over the wind. He squints at the pair on the path ahead of the them, and watches as they fight over Katie's parcel, and see it drop to the ground. Harry watches as Katie rises in the air and begins to scream. He, Ron and Hermione rush to help Leanne tug Katie back to the ground, but as they grab her legs she falls on top of them. Harry and Ron attempt to hold Katie as she thrashes on the ground.

Harry rushes to get help, sprinting towards the school; he hurtles round a bend in the lane and collides with Hagrid. He and Hagrid run back to the Katie and the others. When Leanne mentions that Katie was affected when the parcel dropped to the ground, Harry prevents Ron from touching it. He recognises the cursed opal necklace as the one he saw in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley in the summer before his second year. The group walk back to the school and are taken to Professor McGonagall's office by the teacher. After Leanne tells McGonagall her story and is sent to the hospital wing, Harry tells the teacher that he believes Draco Malfoy was the onewho gave the parcel to Katie.

Harry and Professor Dumbledore use the Pensieve in the Headmaster's office to visit Dumbledore's memory of meeting Tom Riddle for the first time. The pair follow a younger Dumbledore to an orphanage in London, where they see the Professor meet Mrs Cole, the matron of the orphanage, and later the eleven-year-old Tom Riddle. Harry watches as young Dumbledore demonstrates his magical abilities to Tom, and is surprised when Dumbledore agrees to the boy's desire to visit Diagon Alley on his own. The pair return to Dumbledore's office when the memory ends and talk about the meeting.

Harry attends Slughorn's party with Luna. He is greeted enthusiastically by Slughorn when they arrive at his office, and is introduced to several of his guests. He is uncomfortable when Eldred Worple tries to persuade him to have a biography written of him, and politely declines. Harry spies Hermione at the party and leads Luna over to her. He is unsurprised when Hermione mentions that she is trying to avoid her date, Cormac McLaggen, thinking that it serves her right for bringing him. Harry is worried that Hermione will tell Ron that she Confunded Cormac during the Keeper tryouts to cause him to miss a save, knowing that his friend would fall apart again if he knew and cause Gryffindor to lose their next match.

Harry is horrified when Slughorn begins praising his skill at potion-making, and brings Snape into the conversation, not wanting Snape to become suspicious and investigate his new-found brilliance at the subject. When Snape sneers at his choice of N.E.W.T. subjects, Harry defiantly says that he wants to become an Auror, snorting when Luna pipes up with one of her conspiracy theories about the Ministry officials.

Harry is intrigued when Draco is found lurking in a corridor near the party and is dragged there by Filch. He is curious as to why Draco looks so drawn and unhappy, and watches suspiciously as Snape leads his student out of the party. Harry leaves Slughorn's office and pulls his Invisibility Cloak on, following the pair to a classroom. He crouches down by the keyhole and listens to their argument about Draco's progress with his task for Lord Voldemort.

Harry attends the Apparition lesson in the Great Hall. He is intrigued when he sees Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle having a whispered argument before the lesson begins. He moves quickly through the crowd when they are told to find a place in the Great Hall with a clear five foot space in front of them, and positions himself directly behind Malfoy, listening to the continued argument. He interrupts when Malfoy tells Crabbe and Goyle that his doings are none of their business, and says that he would tell his friends what he was up to if he wanted them to keep lookout.

Harry listens as the Apparition Instructor, Wilkie Twycross, explains the process of Apparition, and tries to fix his thoughts on the hoop in front of him. When the students are told to Apparate, Harry spins on the spot, loses his balance and almost falls over. None of his later attempts are successful; after the lesson ends, Harry tells Ron that he prefers flying, his attention focused on trying to see where Malfoy has gone.

Harry and Professor Dumbledore use the Pensieve in the Headmaster's office to visit Hokey the house-elf's memory of Tom Riddle's visit to Hepzibah Smith. They watch as Hepzibah shows Tom her two finest treasures - Helga Hufflepuff's golden cup and Salazar Slytherin's locket. Harry is horrified when he hears that, two days after the visit, Hepzibah Smith was found dead and that Hokey the house- elf was convicted of her murder.

Harry is shocked to discover Draco Malfoy crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. When the boys duel in the bathroom, Harry attempts to block the Cruciatus Curse from Draco by waving his wand wildly and saying Sectumsempra, an incantation he read in the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making. He is horrified when Draco is severely injured by the curse. Harry falls to his knees beside the shaking boy, terrified.

When Snape enters the bathroom, Harry watches in terror as the professor performs a counter-curse to Sectumsempra. Harry is ordered to remain in the bathroom whilst Snape escorts Draco to the hospital wing, and he doesn't even consider disobeying. Harry lies when Snape returns and asks where he discovered Sectumsempra, but is unable to resist Snape's Legilimency, and unable to prevent the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making appearing in his mind.

When he is told to fetch all of his schoolbooks to Snape, Harry hurries to Gryffindor Tower and asks to borrow Ron's copy of Advanced Potion Making. He rushes to the Room of Requirement entrance and paces up and down the corridor past the tapestry, asking for a place to hide the Half-Blood Prince's copy of the book. Harry enters the Room of Requirement, walking through the room which houses generations of Hogwarts students' forbidden treasures. After stowing the book in a cupboard, Harry pauses to place a chipped bust on the cupboard, and perch a dusty wig and a tarnished tiara on the statue's head to make the hiding spot more distinctive, then hurries back to the bathroom.

Harry travels with Professor Dumbledore to find one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. Once the pair find and enter the cave, they travel across the vast lake in a boat, towards the island in the middle. Harry worries that they will be too heavy together in the boat, after learning that Voldemort has enchanted the boat so that only one wizard can travel across in it. He listens as Dumbledore explains that Voldemort would have created the enchantment to measure the powers of the person travelling across, never expecting an underage wizard to reach the cave. Harry is startled when he sees a human hand in the water as they travel across the lake.

When Harry and Dumbledore reach the stone basin, Harry tries to touch the potion that conceals the Horcrux, but meets an invisible barrier. He is worried when Dumbledore says the only way to reach the Horcrux is to drink the Emerald Potion, and is asked to ensure that Dumbledore keeps drinking the liquid, no matter what happens. Harry is reminded of his promise to follow any command Dumbledore gave him on the trip, and gives his word after much protest.

Harry hates himself for following Dumbledore's orders, but ensures that Dumbledore drinks the entire potion from the stone basin, scooping out the liquid with a crystal goblet conjured by the Headmaster. His hand shakes as he scoops the water, horrified by the effects of the potion on the professor. He flings himself down next to Dumbledore when he collapses after draining the last gobletful, using Rennervate to try and revive the unconscious man. Harry tries to fill the crystal goblet with water and is horrified when the liquid disappears immediately. He scoops water from the lake in desperation, disturbing the Inferi who lurk beneath the surface. Harry is surrounded and lifted by the creatures that climb the island, and carried towards the water. He unsuccessfully tries to maim and Stun the Inferi. Harry is dropped to the ground when Dumbledore conjures fire that surrounds the island, and hurries to Dumbledore's side. The pair enter the boat, forcing the Inferi to return to the water, and travel back across the lake.

Harry is sent to fetch Snape by Dumbledore once the pair have arrived at the Astronomy Tower. Harry is immobilised by Dumbledore with a non-verbal Freezing Charm when they hear someone running towards the tower door; he falls back against the Tower wall, unable to move or speak. He watches Dumbledore's confrontation with Draco Malfoy, and sees the Carrows and Fenrir Greyback arrive at the Tower, unable to cast a spell or help the Headmaster. When Snape arrives at the Tower, Harry is forced to watch as Snape casts the Killing Curse at Dumbledore, sending the Headmaster backwards over the battlements and out of sight.

Harry attends the funeral of Professor Dumbledore at Hogwarts. He sits with Ron, Hermione and Ginny near the lake, and watches sadly as Hagrid carries Dumbledore's body down the aisle and places him on the marble table. A sharp pain rises in Harry's throat as Hagrid carries the Headmaster, and tries to make a friendly gesture to his friend as he walks back down the aisle. Harry suppresses a grin as the service begins, remembering Dumbledore's words during his first Sorting Ceremony: 'nitwit', 'oddment', 'blubber' and 'tweak'. When Harry sees the merpeople at the edge of the lake, the reality of Dumbledore's death sweeps over him; Harry regrets all the things he never asked the Headmaster, and all the things he should have said. He becomes very aware of all the people in his life who have stood before him, determined to protect him, and is determined not to let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort. When the service ends, Harry catches Ginny's eye; they gaze at each other, understanding each other perfectly, and Harry knows she will accept whatever decision he makes for their future. Harry quietly tells Ginny that they can't be together any more, telling her that he will not allow Voldemort to use her to get to him again.

Harry is joined by members of the Order of the Phoenix at number four, Privet Drive. Once Harry turns seventeen, he no longer has the protection his mother gave him, but still has the Trace on him until his birthday, preventing them from easily leaving Privet Drive undetected.

Harry is angry when Moody pulls out a flask of Polyjuice Potion and explains the new plan to him, unwilling for his friends to put themselves at risk, but is eventually persuaded.

Harry is paired with Hagrid for the journey from Privet Drive, and squeezes into the sidecar of the flying motorbike. As he and Hagrid climb higher in the air, Harry gives one last glance back at number four, Privet Drive.

Harry is disguised with Polyjuice Potion as 'Cousin Barny' for Bill and Fleur's wedding, using the hairs of a redheaded Muggle from the local village. He talks to Elphias Doge about Rita Skeeter's biography The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, shocked at some of the Dumbledores' history Doge reveals. The reception is disturbed by Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus arriving, announcing that the Ministry of Magic has fallen to Voldemort.

Harry is concealed under the Invisibility Cloak at the Ministry of Magic. He attends the trial of Mary Cattermole, alerting a disguised Hermione to his presence. He is horrified by the unjust trial, and becomes angry when he hears Umbridge lie about the history behind her locket. Harry recognises the supposed family heirloom as Slytherin's locket, a Horcrux. Harry Stupefies Umbridge and Yaxley, and casts his Patronus to save Mary Cattermole from the Dementors. The three escape from the courtroom with the locket.

Harry, Ron and Hermione Apparate to the forest near to where the 1994 Quidditch World Cup was held. Hermione explains that she wanted to find somewhere enclosed, undercover and that it was the first place she thought of. Harry suggests that they remain there after realising that they can't go back to number twelve, Grimmauld Place. Harry fetches the tent from Hermione's bag, recognising it as the one they slept in at the Quidditch World Cup. He and Hermione half carry, half drag the injured Ron through the entrance of the tent once it is erected, lowering their friend carefully onto the bunk bed once inside.

Harry and Hermione take Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves on their trip to Godric's Hollow, surreptitiously taking hairs from Muggles out Christmas shopping. Harry transforms into a balding, middle-aged man before they Apparate into the village under the Invisibility Cloak. Harry suggests they remove the Cloak once in the village, as the streets are not busy and they are already disguised.

Harry gazes up at the village war memorial as they pass it, after it transforms from an obelisk into a statue of James, Lily and himself as a baby. He finds it strange to see himself as a happy baby without a scar on his forehead. They make their way to the graveyard, where Harry searches for his parents' grave. When Hermione discovers Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore's grave, he thinks Dumbledore ought to have told him they shared a deep connection to the graveyard. Harry continues the search for his parents' grave, which is eventually discovered by Hermione. He cries as he stands in front of it, wishing for a moment that he is with his parents. Harry places a wreath of Christmas roses on the grave before they leave the graveyard.

Harry sees a bright silver light appear near the tent, moving silently through the trees. He watches as it comes closer, soon seeing a silver-white doe Patronus in front of him. Harry follows the doe through the trees until they arrive at small, frozen pool and the doe disappears. Harry casts Lumos and is surprised to see the sword of Gryffindor lying at the bottom of the pool. He attempts to Summon the sword, but is unsuccessful, eventually entering the water himself to fetch it. When Harry jumps into the freezing cold water, groping blindly for the sword, Slytherin's locket begins to tighten around his neck. Harry thrashes wildly in the water as the chain begins to suffocate him, before feeling arms closing around his chest. Coming to on the surface, Harry shivers violently as he stands up, coming face to face with Ron.

Harry is confused when Ron denies casting the Patronus, and examines the area for footprints. Harry thinks Ron should destroy Slytherin's locket, as it was he who pulled the sword of Gryffindor from the lake. He opens the locket using Parseltongue, and watches in horror as Ron becomes fixated by the presence in the locket. He desperately calls to Ron to stab the Horcrux and is relieved when Ron eventually destroys it.

Harry, Ron and Hermione visit the Lovegood family home. They ask Xenophilius Lovegood about the symbol he wore at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and learn about his belief in the existence of the Deathly Hallows. The trio are betrayed by Xenophilius, who attempts to hand them in to the Death Eaters in exchange for the return of his daughter Luna, but escape in time.

Harry bursts into the drawing room at Malfoy Manor after Ron. The pair attempt to overpower the Death Eaters, but stop when Bellatrix holds Hermione at knife-point. When Dobby causes the chandelier to crash, Harry leaps over an armchair and wrestles the three wands from Draco, Stunning Greyback with all three. Harry's scar hurts unbearably, but he throws one of the wands to Ron and seizes Dobby's hand, Disapparating from the manor.

Harry is devastated by Dobby's death. He insists on digging the grave himself using no magic, and asks Bill for a spade. It is getting light as he finishes digging the grave. Harry wraps Dobby in his jacket, puts a woollen hat upon his head from Dean and places the house-elf in the grave. The only words Harry can manage to say are 'Goodbye, Dobby', but remains by the grave once the others have gone. He casts a spell to inscribe the stone headstone Here lies Dobby, a Free Elf.

Griphook, Harry, Ron and Hermione trick their way into Gringotts, and travel by cart to the Lestrange vault. Harry is horrified when the cart plunges through The Thief's Downfall, removing Hermione and Ron's disguises. They are shocked to find a dragon guarding the vault, but keep it at bay using Clankers.

Once they enter the Lestrange's vault, the group search for Hufflepuff's cup. They are horrified to realise that the contents of the vault are cursed. When Harry finally notices the cup sitting high on a shelf, he is levitated by Hermione and uses the sword of Gryffindor to pick up the Horcrux. Harry is betrayed when, after saving the goblin from the multiplying treasure, Griphook grabs the sword and causes the cup to fly off, but Harry dives in time to catch it.

Harry is unsure about how to escape from the bank, but has a flash of inspiration; he releases the dragon from its chains, and calls for Ron and Hermione to climb on. He digs his knees into the beast's side, causing it to race towards the passage opening. The trio enlarge the passageway for the dragon, blasting the ceiling apart with gouging spells. They make their way out into the marble hallway and soar into the air, the dragon forcing its way through the banks' metal doors and into Diagon Alley.

Harry hides under the Invisibility Cloak in the passage to the Shrieking Shack. He watches as Voldemort confronts Snape, and orders Nagini to kill the teacher. Harry goes to Snape after Voldemort has left, bending over the dying teacher. He hesitates when Snape tells him to take his memories, but fills a flask with the silvery substance gushing from Snape's eyes, mouth and ears.

Harry presses his lips to the Golden Snitch and whispers 'I am about to die', causing the metal shell to break and reveal the Resurrection Stone. When Harry turns the stone over in his hands three times, apparitions of James and Lily, Sirius and Remus appear around him. Harry is accompanied to the clearing where Voldemort awaits by the four apparitions, who are invisible to all but him. Harry reveals himself to Voldemort, removing the Invisibility Cloak and allowing the Resurrection Stone to slip from his fingers. They stare at each other from across the clearing, and he watches as Voldemort raises his wand to perform the Killing Curse. Harry sees a flash of green light, and then everything goes black.

Harry reveals himself from under the Invisibility Cloak as he casts a Shield Charm into the Great Hall. He tells the surrounding crowd not to help; he must fight Voldemort alone. The pair circle each other; Harry retaliates to Voldemort's jeers, and shocks him by claiming that he has both magic that the Dark Lord does not, and a weapon more powerful than him. Harry tells Voldemort that Dumbledore orchestrated his own death, and that Snape had belonged to the Headmaster since Lily Potter's death.

Harry shocks Voldemort by telling him that the Elder Wand isn't working properly for him because he is not its true master. He explains that Dumbledore was not the master of the Elder Wand at his death, and thus neither was Snape. Harry explains that after disarming Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower, Draco became master of the Elder Wand, until Harry himself disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor.

After a pause, Harry casts the Disarming Spell at Voldemort, hitting the Dark Lord's Killing Curse in mid-air. He watches as the Elder Wand spins out of Voldemort's hand and into the air towards him. As Harry catches the Elder Wand in his free hand, he watches Voldemort falls backwards, hit by the rebounding Killing Curse.